Low Dimensional Game

by Stayrr

By accident, Lu Zhiyu found the entrance to a low-dimensional world, and thus began a totally different journey! Free to control everything in the low-dimensional game, Lu Zhiyu felt like a gamemaster, and even God.

4. 97

Read Low Dimensional Game - Chapter 97 - Wizard (8) online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 97: Wizard (8)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

From the side of the hill, a large number of knights, each clad in white armor, suddenly appeared. It was an army from the Knights of Light, numbering 10,000 strong.

Originally, they had been hiding outside the city, waiting for their opportunity to attack. They had planned to wait until the wizards were completely focused on the attack of the city, then attack them with their army within the city, thus defeating the wizards and the Owl Knights in one fell swoop.

Yet, no one could have anticipated that the wizards would use such a powerful combination technique to destroy the city wall. Charles, the Captain of the Knights of Light, who was also one of the Saints, reacted quickly. He immediately rallied his troops, not waiting anymore for the opportune moment, but it was already too late.

The Owl Knights were now only a few hundred paces from the city. As soon as they rushed into the city, with their guerilla tactics and their devastating techniques, death would most certainly rain down upon St. Sarl City, transforming it into hell on earth. Then, not even a cat or dog would be left alive.

After seeing the destruction of the city wall, Leves let out a deranged laugh. He could already see the fear and terror of the believers inside the city.

Leves, who had already been tense on his journey of slaughter, had now fully descended into a state of madness. "Owl Knights, go forth! Don't leave a single one alive."

The Owl Knights moved forth quickly in unison, like a single, fighting machine. They were like a neat and organized painting. It looked like an immense black wave, crashing terrifyingly towards St. Sarl City.

The Knights of Light spurred their horses on, chasing desperately up to the Owl Knights. However, it was too late. Charles let out a shout of despair, "No!"

Leves led eight other wizards to the very front. He drew his longsword, heading straight into the city through the hole in the wall. There, amid the smoke and the debris, Leves spotted a blurry figure.

"Who's there?"

Leves was pondering this question, when he suddenly became overwhelmed with a sense of danger. Leves dismounted in a panic, then immediately controlled his body and flew away. Instantly, a flash of white light flew out, like a wave crashing upon the ground.

Leves had quick reflexes, but three wizards beside him, as well as several dozen of the Owl Knights were unable to react. They all took a direct hit from the white light. Wherever the white light swept past, it seemed as though a sharp blade has sliced through. All of them fell to the ground, cut into two, right down their middles.

Time seemed to have stopped, and no one could react. In a area of a hundred meters, all of the people and horses were in chaos. Many of the horses were terrified, and the army was in complete disarray.

"Agra, Dellas, Blair!" Henry pulled his reins and shouted, while looking towards a spot where a large chunk of ground had just been vaporized. He couldn't believe his eyes. This power was beyond the Judgement Ray of the previous Saint. The Judgement Ray only had a powerful tearing force, able to rend its enemies in an instant. But the power just now brought instant destruction, annihilating everything in its path! The people who died just now had been erased.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking at the three dead wizards. The trio's bodies were torn into shreds. Two had died immediately, while the other had awakened a life-type talent wailed for a while before finally succumbing to his injuries. From the very beginning of their training at the Wizard Tower, the three had been inseparable. They shared a close bond that went far beyond family.

"They're dead?"

"How is that possible?"

"Who could have done this?"

The formation descended into chaos, as all of the people were frightened by the unexpected change. The knights retreated in order to reform their formations.

Leves landed, then looked at the figure walking out through the gaping hole on the city wall. The smoke cleared, revealing a tall, slender figure.

The figure before them in a long white robe. It was a woman, yet she was taller than most men. She was over 1.8 meters in height. Her loose robes conveyed a sense of exquisite beauty upon her.

Her feet never seemed to touch the ground while she was walking. She seemed suspended in the air. Her face was covered with a white sun mask that emanated a sense of immense power which radiated in the air. In this situation, all of the wizards, including Leves, could only think of one person: the legendary deity, the kin of God.

"Saintess Kelly of the Church of Light."

Leves stood in front of the Owl Knights, as thousands of eyes looked at the strange woman in the mask. They could feel distinctly that there was a strange sense of pressure in the space.

The attack from before had been beyond their imaginations, easily decimating a range of a hundred meters. The actual range of the technique was unfathomable. This was an unprecedented amount of mind power!

The dawn sun rose behind the Saintess, lighting up Leves and the rest, bit by bit. As the light of the dawn interspersed with the darkness of night, it was an extraordinary sight to behold.

Sensing the ripples of mind power emanated by the Saintess, which was vast like the ocean, as well as the sun sigil mask on her face, the army could feel a huge formless pressure with her very step forward.

"The Mask of Faross, a divine artifact?"

Leves's expression changed repeatedly. The army of the Knights of Light were almost here. If they could not deal with the woman and rush into the city, the Owl Knights would be attacked by the Knights of Light outside the city and suffer heavy casualties.

With this woman was blocking the entrance, many people would die if they rushed in forcefully. Leves raised his hand and made a gesture. The other wizards immediately sent out a command. "Archers get ready. Everyone else, surround the city and storm in from the sides!"

The disrupted formations had already reformed, so they immediately moved according to the commands. A large number of knights dismounted and took up the position of archers. Leves wanted to use this tactic to pressure Saintess Kelly. If she moved aside and allowed them passage, then the situation would be beyond her control.

Even the wizards would not face such a shower of arrows. Leves had become a level three wizard. As such, he could defend his entire body with a mind power forcefield. But, even he would be unable to maintain his forcefield under such a relentless attack.

Each of the wizards began preparing new techniques. Leves refused to believe that this Saintess, even with her mask, was truly invincible and could disregard the entire army of the Owl Knights and the wizards combined.

Leves looked at the Saintess who was blocking the entrance, then took in a deep breath. He roared fiercely, "Shoot!"

The sky became covered by the rain of arrows, flying quickly toward the city wall. Leves was determined to force the Saintess off to the side, yet she did not seem to have any intentions of moving.

The arrows descended like rain. But, as they got within a dozen or so meters from the Saintess, they seemed to become bogged down by water. They started moving slower and slower, then completely froze in the air, before falling to the ground.

The soldiers on both sides intersected to surround her. Drawing their longswords, they stared at the Saintess. They had no emotions nor fear, as they only understood and obeyed commands.

They had been destroying everything under the orders of Leves. When they got within a hundred meters of Saintess Kelly, all of them froze immediately, then fell to the ground, dead without any traces of injuries.

As the knights approached, it seemed as if they just dove into an abyss of death. One by one, they died on the spot. It was as if their souls were being devoured. They died instantly, losing consciousness.

To the eyes of the wizards, it was a different world. They saw that the mind power of the Saintess had spread into an area with a radius of a hundred meters, forming a strong force field of mind power. It was as if she had her own spiritual domain, within which, she could control certain laws.

"What is that?"

"What happened?"

"Is it another divine incantation?"

Leves understood exactly what he was seeing, "Supernatural ability, controlling the laws of the world."

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Chapter 98: Wizard (9)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Leves had seen exceedingly great power before. Even though the magical beasts had extraordinary power, their powers were still comparable to the witchcraft that they had released. The natures of the two were different, but the powers each held were similar.

The main difference lay within the mind power. Leves reckoned that the mind power of the Saintess was beyond level four wizards. When Leves was at the tower of the wizards, he had heard Mr. Anthony talking about the abilities, as well as other horrifying things regarding the level four wizards. However, he had never encountered them personally before.

The Knights of Light, traveling from more than 10 miles away, had finally arrived. The delay of one to two minutes caused by Leves and the Owl Knights had resulted in them missing a great opportunity. They now had nowhere to retreat. There was only one way out for them. Perhaps, from the moment Leves formed the Wizard Alliance, he could only move forward. Thus, there was no retreat for him.

Ten thousand knights dashed forward from the hillside like a tsunami, defeating the Owl Knights. Leves' face darkened like charcoal. He felt that the situation had snuck up on him, suddenly changing without warning. He had been too carried away by success, and by the time he realized the change, it was too late.

Leves looked at the woman standing alone at the city wall. She was surrounded by crumbling fences and dilapidated buildings. There were also a number arrows and dead bodies of Owl Knights as well. "Go, kill her. We have to kill her," he ordered.

As a Knight of Light swept forth on his horse, Leves killed him with his sword. He then threw himself over the horse as he shouted out to the members of the Wizard Alliance. All eyes were fixed on Saintess Kelly. As long as they could kill her, they would be able to turn the tables in this battle.

The five remaining wizards charged toward Saintess Kelly alongside Leves. The situation at the city wall was chaotic. The Owl Knights and the Knights of Light were fighting with one another, and although the Knights of Light had surrounded the Owl Knights, the battlefield had been divided into many small battlefields. The individual combat strengths of each of the Owl Knights was powerful and they formed small groups, fighting aggressively against the strongest troop of the Light Clan.

Members of the Shaman Group dashed toward the city wall. Everyone took out their spellcasting media, preparing to use the new spells. Leves was at the forefront, a huge fireball forming in his hands. He bombarded Kelly with it, as Henry flew up on the other side. Henry was a level two wizard, able to fly already. Using his unique witchcraft, alchemy equipment and magnetic iron pieces surrounded Henry as he flew. These pieces could be used as a protective layer as well as assault weapons.

Everyone used their individual witchcraft and the six of them jointly attacking Saintess Kelly. Saintess Kelly moved her hand, sending a bright ray flashing across the sky. The three beside Leves, took precautionary measures to avoid the ray. However, Leves was the Saintess' main target.

Leves's mind power transformed into a mental forcefield, countering the Judgment of Light released by the Saintess. However, the forcefield was instantly destroyed, leaving him vulnerable and injured, making his head feel as if it had been hit by a hammer, and his focus had relaxed.

The Judgment of Light swept past the Explosive Flame Witchcraft displayed by Leves, dissolving it. At this moment, the rest of them had no time for Leves and disregarded him as they moved forth to jointly attack the Saintess.

Four of them attacked the Saintess together. The divine incantation, which was used by the Saintess to influence man's consciousness, had no effect on the wizards. The Saintess activated the Judgment of Light, but it could only attack the wizards superficially. Their enhanced bodies and mind powers were extremely sensitive, allowing them to speedily avoid the attacks. These people regularly fought with wizards, and hence, were familiar with the combat methods they used. Thus, they avoided the attacks and continued to approach the Saintess.

As the Saintess was counteracting their witchcraft, Henry made use of the opportunity to attack the Saintess with his alchemy weapon. More than 10 patches spun around and cut the Saintess' throat, like blades.

The Saintess suddenly turned to look at Henry, her cold gaze shooting past the mask and making Henry feel as if his mind was frozen. The mask on her face spread out, transforming into rays of light and merging into the world. Everyone, including those on the battlefield, felt the world go suddenly quiet.

"Realm of god!"

Lu Zhiyu's dream world spread out. Everyone within the radius of a few thousand meters was brought into the dream world. The dream element spread across the entire battle field. Everyone stopped moving, including the Knights of Light and the Owl Knights, as though they had been frozen in time. Then, hundreds and thousands of Owl Knights suddenly died.

The mind powers and consciousness of the wizards had been suppressed, and they could not move. Henry was now near Saintess Kelly. Just one move, and he could have killed Kelly, but he could now only look at her, unable to mobilize himself at all.

Kelly's hair blew up in the wind as she looked at Henry with her dark pupils. She was expressionless, like a statute of god. She lifted up her hand gently, sending shivers through Henry. Finding himself unable to break free, he let out a desperate cry, "Oh, no!"

A white ray engulfed Henry, causing him to gradually disappear into the air, like vapor. Leves was the first to come out of the dream world. He tried to escape. He was afraid. He was fearful. There was no way to fend off such great power. He could not even comprehend what it was exactly. The other wizards did likewise, while the ordinary people were still unable to move. A wizard's mind power surpassed that of ordinary people, it could not be compared.

"Run, Run!"

"Leave this place quickly. As long as we are alive, we have a chance. We have our teacher and classmates."

"That's right. Leave this place. Next time, next time we will be able to…"

Everyone fled in a panic and shared comforting words to calm themselves. Kelly looked coldly at the members of the Wizard Alliance as she started to rise up above the city wall. Suddenly, the space behind her became hazy and illusory, and a number of golden chains constantly extended from her back.

"Chain of god!"

Following Kelly's cold voice, the chains passed through the sky and chained everyone up, including Leves. Leves had wanted to use his witchcraft, but he realized that not only was he unable to do this, but his mind power was being confined. The chain had sealed his mind power. He had wanted to control and destroy all the Owl Knights. He also wanted to release the plague incantation on the entire St. Sarl City, even though it would mean that he would perish with them, but he could not do anything.

"What has happened? Is this the power of the artifact?"

"Let go of me, let go of me!"

"Oh no! We are going to die. What should we do?"

"The badge. There is a guide on the teleport matrix that our teacher left behind in the badge. We can use it to leave this place!"

"Our mind power has been sealed. It's impossible. We cannot activate it. We are going to die!"

All those within the radius of a few miles were now chained up and started to rise up to the sky. The Saintess had transformed into a white ray, her body becoming invisible. One wizard after another started to cry out before dying on the spot. They cried and wailed, but they could not change their fates.

The Saintess came before Leves, the white ray engulfing her body. Leves was bound by the golden chain, causing him to hang helplessly in the air. He was like a prisoner of god, the goddess now looked at him.

"Hahaha, is it my turn?"

"Kill me, kill me!"

Leves shivered in fear. He tried to act brave, but he was frightened. As the Saintess clenched her fist gently, the golden chain entered Leves' body. He had no control of his body, leaving him unable to release any witchcraft. He was bruised all over and was at the mercy of the Saintess.

There was a stationed legion at the city wall, and the Knights of Light were watching from afar. They stared at Saintess Kelly who looked like a goddess. Many of them knelt down atop the city wall. No one had expected Saintess Kelly to use Faross' mask to control such a great power. This was no ordinary power. It belonged to the realm of god.

The Saintess withdrew the realm of god and saw that the dream element had retreated and returned to her. It had gathered together to form a mask with the print of a sun. She put it gently on her face and lifted Leves, who had been immobilized. They landed on top of the city wall, and the entire stationed legion knelt down on the floor. They paid obeisance to the Saintess, treating her like a god.

"Get the soldiers to kill the rest of the Owl Knights, and send these demons to hell."

Without the control of Leves and the Wizard Alliance, and the help of witchcraft, more than half of the Owl Knights had been killed by the Saintess. Although they continued to fight fearlessly, they ended up being killed in St. Sarl City. The elites of Light Clan, the Knights of Light, also suffered great losses. After this battle, they would require a long while to recuperate.

The Wizard Alliance and Leves' rebel army had been destroyed. The Owl Knights that had created chaos among mankind had come to an end. The following morning, the red cardinal bishops rushed back from their different countries. Upon their arrivals, they saw that St. Sarl City was in order, and that the Wizard Alliance and Owl Knights had been destroyed by Saintess Kelly. They also heard the news that the leader of the Alliance, Leves, had been captured by the Saintess.

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Chapter 99: A Fiery End

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

News that the Owl Knights and wizards had been destroyed at St. Sarl City spread throughout the entire human world. The once formidable and terrifying troop, and the spokesmen for the demons, the wizards, had been destroyed by the Saintess and the gods.

However, the fear and death brought on by the wizards had been imprinted into the hearts of all the people. No one could forget the dark army that had brought, like a tsunami, such death and suffering to mankind. Many of them were impressed by the power of the Light Clan and Saintess Kelly. They found it unbelievable that Kelly had single-handedly destroyed the Wizard Alliance and Owl Knights.

The countries that were preparing to take action calmed down. After the battle, the Light Clan had suffered great losses, yet they did not ask the countries to be held accountable for what had happened. Instead, they doubled their efforts in capturing the wizards, as well as those who had participated in the noble assemblies. Those who harbored and housed them would also be deemed as having gone against the Light Clan.

The Crete Empire, and other countries, once again underwent a purge. Many scapegoats, and people who seemed like wizards, were captured and sent to the guillotine. The fervor of going against the Light Clan gradually died down.

In Virginia, the capital of the Crete Empire, there was an underground secret meeting room. The key members of the noble assembly once again gathered. There were more people, but none were talking. The atmosphere was so grave, that it was almost suffocating.

"Failed. We have failed. We have lost our influence. A portion of our primary allies, who trusted us, are now keeping their distances."

"It is all because of Leves and the wizards. They acted on their own and ruined our plans."

Ivens said, "We failed, there's nothing we can do about that. In any case, we still have other opportunities. Let's start planning again. We know what Light Clan is capable of now. No one expected that the Saintess alone was enough to defeat them. The power of the artifact is indeed very powerful. Ordinary people will not be able to defend against it."

The man who was seated on the main seat had his face hidden in the dark. He muttered, "The mask of Feross!"

One month later, at St. Sarl City in the Light Clan Country, St. Mary's Square was crowded with people. At the center of St. Mary's Square, a man, badly bruised, was tied to a stone pillar. He was heavily guarded by the Knights of Light and the Commander, Charles. His white coat had turned reddish black, his pants were torn, and one of his toenails was missing. The man was Leves. He looked pathetic and weak, and could not move. Firewood had been placed under his feet, and his body had been splashed with kerosene.

Everyone looked at Leves. It had been rumored that he had sold his soul to the devil. He was the most evil person in history, many people had died at his hands. The entire Moore Province had been empty because of him. Thus, many had come to watch him be consumed by the sacred flame. Among these people, some had had their friends and families killed by Leves, and many had been victimized personally by him in some way.

Leves was tightly chained to the stone pillar. His mental strength was being confined by the divine incantation, preventing him from releasing any form of witchcraft. He was weak, his blood not circulating. His eyes swept the crowd, everyone looked at him with hatred, fear, and anger.

"Burn him to death, burn him to death!"

"Burn this demon to death. We curse you, and your soul will forever be burnt by the sacred flame!"

"Oh God, please give this evil man the most severe punishment!"

Everyone was talking at once, and it sounded as though a huge wave had swept over St. Mary's Square. Leves laughed crazily, as he looked out at the people. Everyone wanted him dead.

As Leves laughed, the entire St. Mary's Square quieted and looked at him. When Leves gazed around, no one dared look him in the eye.

"Hahaha, hahaha, hahahahahaha!" Leves laughed, tears starting to flow his eyes.

After a while, he said as he laughed, "Ignorant and stupid. You are a bunch of stupid people. You will never know what I am doing. I am the one here to save you. I am the one bringing light to you!"

"Hahaha, all of you are pigs, bred by the gods. How can you understand our greatness? You will never understand our desire for freedom and truth. You are just a bunch of pathetic people, begging the gods for food."

Leves' laughter became louder and crazier and his voice rang throughout the entire square. His compelling aura drew a shadow over the thousands of people, subduing them. Charles' face turned pale. He could not allow such behavior from Leves, and immediately shouted:

"Execute him, execute him!"

"Burn this devil. Let him talk no more!"

A few torches were thrown into the firewood, and a fire swept across the execution ground, consuming Leves. Leves continued to shout, "One day, you will know the truth. The world of the wizards will come to man. I have failed, but there will be thousands and millions of people, who will fulfill my dreams for me. You will not be able to stop them. No one is able to stop…"

Bohr stood under the stand, watching his classmate from afar. His once good friend was consumed by the fire. After much raving, Leves died. His voice resonated in the entire square, sweeping past everyone, like the shadow of a devil. His words had a deep, terrifying impact on all who were present.

Although he had personally watched Leves had died, Bohr had no intention of attacking. The Light Clan and Saintess were sitting at the forefront, waiting for the wizards to take action, so that they could capture all of them.

Moreover, as Bohr passed by Moore Province, he had seen the mess and bodies that Leves had left behind. He was extremely disappointed with Leves. Bohr had never expected Leves, who had studied together with him at the Wizard Tower, to change so drastically after gaining power. He had been overwhelmed by the power of the wizards, and had forgotten that he was once just an ordinary man.

There were other wizards among the people. Bohr saw a few familiar faces. However, no one wanted to save Leves, or else they dared not to. The Saintess, who possessed the artifact, was sitting right there. Those who dared to create a scene in St. Sarl City would be courting their own deaths.

Bohr looked at Leves, who had gradually turned into a mere pile of ashes, and put on his hat and left. "Everyone has to be responsible for his own actions. Leves, you deserve this end. From the moment you were overwhelmed by the power of the wizards, you were destined to be consumed by the same power."

Bohr quickly left St. Sarl City but Leves' parting words had a deep impact on him and made him feel lost. He did not know the future of the wizards, or where he should go.

During that winter, in the 14th year of the San calendar, Leves' and his wizard's alliance had come an end in St. Sarl City. However, Leves's name was deeply imprinted in the history of mankind as the one who had started the war between the wizards and Light Clan. From this day forward, the wizards and Light Clan would be arch-enemies. This was not the ending, but merely the beginning of their strife.

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Chapter 100: A Relaxing Holiday

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Lu Zhiyu sat in his living room and looked out of the window, while leisurely having his cup of coffee. He looked comfortable and relaxed although felt estranged from the world, as though he did not belong here, but was, rather, from Maria's World.

Lu Zhiyu had been in Maria's World for more than 10 years, but in the outside world, only a few days had passed. Everything looked the same as it had the day he had left.

"I should be almost 50 years old by now. A normal person should be entering old age at this time."

When Lu Zhiyu returned to the world this time around, there was a tremendous change in his mindset. He no longer felt tense, but was relaxed and calm. When one was no longer under the bondage of materialism, money, and even society, one needed to find a new purpose in life. Lu Zhiyu found that he would like to take it easier in life, and simply do something that he liked.

He did not want to do something that went against his conscience or that he disliked. He would like to lead an ordinary life, and to live for himself. He did not want to be anxious about anything, as he could live a long life, and thus, had sufficient time to fulfill his wishes.

Suddenly, a ringing sound broke the peace. It was his mobile phone, which was on the television set. He stretched out his hand and watched as the phone came within his reach.

It took him a while to prepare himself, before he answered in English: "Hello, who's this?"

The deep voice of a middle-aged man sounded on the other end of the line. He politely said, "Hello, are you Mr. Anthony? I am Charlie Andrew. Do you remember receiving my invitation?"

After searching through his memory, he remembered. Lu Zhiyu had attended a banquet previously, where he had met Charlie Andrew and he had invited Lu Zhiyu to attend a secret clan, known as Vatican Clan. It was rumored that it was related to the legendary blood race. Lu Zhiyu had found it interesting at the time, and so had accepted his invitation.

"Oh, of course! You told me that I would be able to see a different side to this world. I am curious!" Lu Zhiyu replied.

Charlie Andrew sounded secretive as he said, "That's great. If you are keen, a car will pick you up in about 10 minutes. I hope you will keep this event a secret."

"No problem. I am looking forward to the upcoming events."

Lu Zhiyu was indeed keen. He finished his coffee and stood up then he disappeared into a ball of light and appeared in his wardrobe, on the upper floor of his home. After changing into a new set of clothes, he disappeared again and appeared at his door.

He walked to the main road, and after a while, a Bentley came to a stop in front of him. A man, dressed like a special agent, stepped out of the car. He sized Lu Zhiyu up, as he opened the door of the back seat.

"Mr. Anthony? Mr. Charlie has sent me to pick you up. Please get into the car. Boss is waiting for you." This bodyguard was like a robot with a build was like the governor's. He should be Charlie's bodyguard cum chauffeur.

Lu Zhiyu said teasingly, "Do I need to cover my eyes, or put on a blindfold?"

The bodyguard replied with a rigid voice, "No need."

Lu Zhiyu shrugged, finding him immediately uninteresting. The car did not travel out of the city, as Lu Zhiyu had expected, but rather had stopped at The Shard, near London Bridge.

Lu Zhiyu looked at the building, using his mind power. The structure and the names of the all the people in the entire building appeared in his sub-brain. Very quickly, he located Charlie Andrew.

"Boss is in…"

Before the bodyguard could finish his sentence, Lu Zhiyu was already on his way up. The service staff led him to a gym on the 52nd level, where Charlie Andrew was waiting.

Charlie Andrew was working out under the guidance of a lady trainer. When he saw Lu Zhiyu, he stopped his workout and wiped away his sweat. He said, "I believe Mr. Anthony has not yet eaten. Please wait for me while I get changed!"

"There is a modern Chinese style restaurant here. They serve the finest Modern European cuisine with an Asian twist. I believe you will enjoy it."

Lu Zhiyu nodded with a smile. After a while, he followed Charlie Andrew to the restaurant, known as TING. The food tasted good. The chef had mixed in many Chinese flavors and the place was decorated in a Chinese style as well. One could see the entirety of London from it, it made one feel as though he was dining on top of the clouds.

As Lu Zhiyu was having his meal, he kept looking at the rooftop of The Shard. The building was 310 meters tall, and was one of the famed landmarks of London. He had been to the building before, but had never gone up to its top. As his mind power surrounded the entire building, he found a place that was very unusual. There was something on the rooftop of the building that emitted was a strong unknown forcefield that had shielded itself from Lu Zhiyu's telepathic power.

Lu Zhiyu was curious. He was certain that the secret gathering place of Vatican Clan was on the rooftop. He could read the minds of others, but could not read their memories. When he had met Charlie Andrew previously, he did not yet know the location of Vatican Clan.

Although he had many questions, since he was there, he would be able to see what he wished to see. There was no hurry.

However, Lu Zhiyu had not expected Vatican Clan to be located in such a place. He had thought that they would gather in some secluded castle, an enclosed old-fashioned alley, or on old Regent Street.

It should not be located in one of London's most renowned buildings. As someone once said, the greatest geniuses often hid in plain sight. Was this the case? As Lu Zhiyu was having his meal, he chatted with Charlie Andrew when suddenly, Andrew started to talk about the building. "Anthony, do you know who owns this building?"

Lu Zhiyu thought for a while and said, "This building was built in 2012. I have heard that it was funded by the Qatar royal family. Don't tell me that they are the owners?"

Charlie Andrew shook his head and said, "Although they are one of the shareholders, the main holding company belongs to the Dutch Debye family. They are the owners of this building. In fact, most of the properties in this building belong to them. I will introduce you to some of them later."

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Chapter 101: Vatican Clan

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Charlie took out a card and put it into a slot in the lift. A button panel immediately turned over, displaying a few buttons that led to the higher levels. Charlie pressed the button, sending the lift up to the top floor.

When the lift opened, Lu Zhiyu saw an anteroom with a Western classical style. Girls dressed in maid uniforms were standing on both sides of the room. On the wall facing him, was a red inverted cross with the words, VENTURE, inscribed below. This translated meant Vatican. Lu Zhiyu was curious as to how the Vatican Clan first came about.

They had borrowed the name from the thirteen clan in a novel. Lu Zhiyu had thought that its formation was only for fun, but it did not seem to be so. He could feel a field emitting out from the top of his head, and had never experienced such power before, even the mental strength was totally different.

As a maid ushered both of them forward, they each put on black cloaks, and walked past a corridor filled with oil paintings. The oil paintings were painted by renowned artists, and were mostly depicting subjects like hell and the dark continents. In fact, most of the scenes were derived from Dante's Divine Comedy.

Soon, a dark golden world appeared before them. It was a huge hall. This should be the rooftop of The Shard, where only authorized personnel could enter. The floor level was not reflected on the lift button, nor was there any staircase leading to it.

This appeared to be a sacred place. There were dark golden pillars, carved with ancient myths and legends of the dark. The atmosphere was grim and mysterious, its people wearing black cloaks with their faces hidden in the dark.

On top of the dark dome, hung paintings of the angels and the gods. However, their eyes looked evil. They seemed to be smiling, but their smiles made one shudder. There was no gentleness or light in them, and they seemed to be staring at the souls on earth as if they were laughing at them.

The only windows were on the utmost top of the hall. As the sun shone in, its beams could only brighten up some of the areas. Hence, the lights were hazy and dreamy. Yet, underneath was utter darkness.

Suddenly, a light shone in the center of the hall. A man in a black robe was sitting beside a piano on the stage. As everyone looked at him, he started to play a melodious piece of music. Lu Zhiyu recognized that it was the prelude of Croatian Rhapsody. The rhythm carried a tinge of gloominess, and in the darkness, anger was being aroused. Lu Zhiyu seemed to see the ruins at sunset, the lonely figures, the graves, and sadness.

Many people started to chant. A special, sacred atmosphere filled the entire hall. It was not an aura of Divine Light, but instead, of the Dark.

"The beginning of the world. Millet or sheep, man had been expelled from the Garden of Eden."

"Sent into exile, banned from power. The descendants had filled the earth."

"Under the moonlight, light bloody sweetness. Who has awakened the dead?"

"…"

The rhythm became faster, as the fingers on the keys became heavier. Seemingly, melodies akin to pilgrimage music filled the hall, and everyone, in black cloaks, gathered toward the stage. They looked quietly at the man playing the piano. Many of them lifted up their hands to pray. Everyone was holding an inverted black cross.

As the pair of hands on the keys moved quicker, the rhythm was filled with indignation. Lu Zhiyu could sense that the man's emotions were getting stronger. It was like a volcano that could explode at anytime. He had used music to stir up the emotions of everyone, matching perfectly with the atmosphere.

"I want you to sacrifice your most precious thing in life, your joy and glory."

"Once again, come to me, and enjoy the madness of ruling eternal life."

When the music ended, no one applauded. Everyone looked solemn and dignified. Many of them drew the sign of an inverted cross, using the cross that they were holding in their hands, as they prayed to the man. When the man walked to the front of the stage, Lu Zhiyu saw that he was only a little more than 20 years old. He was slender, handsome, and graceful, and seemed to be a nobleman.

"We have a few more brothers and sisters today. I hope that we can unite altogether. No matter where you are from, or which race you belong to, since you are here, you are one of us. I would like to invite our new members up to the stage."

As Charlie signaled to Lu Zhiyu, Lu Zhiyu walked up to the stage. There were three other people with him, and around one hundred people down at the base of the stage. The four of them removed their caps, and when everyone saw Lu Zhiyu's face, they screamed.

Even the youth on stage looked at Lu Zhiyu and said, "Oh, perfect. You are born to be in our Clan. Perfect. Beautiful. You are without blemish."

Lu Zhiyu nodded his head slightly, then shifted his gaze to look at the other three. He recognized two of them. One of them was a renowned female singer. She was the most recent number-one singles artist on the United States Billboard chart.

When Lu Zhiyu recollected himself, he saw the man on stage saying a prayer and placing a black inverted cross each around each of their necks. After the initiation rite had ended, he walked away.

The rite seemed simple. However, before one could become a member, he must be recommended by an existing member. The Clan would then run a check on the person. Those who did not qualify, or who seemed suspicious, would not be accepted into the Clan. Logically speaking, Lu Zhiyu could not be accepted into the Clan.

However, the man seemed interested in him. After looking through his particulars, checking on his background, and finding out his problems, he had invited Lu Zhiyu to join their Clan after all.

After the initiation rite, they came to the highlight, the prayer ceremony that Lu Zhiyu had been looking forward to. They held this ceremony once a month. This was the Vatican Clan's secret prayer ceremony, which had attracted so many renowned people, as well as the rich, to join them.

According to Charlie Andrew's memory, every time they had this prayer ceremony, their lifespan would be extended. They would be younger and healthier, and their diseases would be healed. The man who stood before Lu Zhiyu was a living example. He was Nicholas Debye. Although he looked only a little more than 20 years old, he was actually nearly 50 years old. He was currently head of the Debye Group. All these were possible, due to the power of the ceremony.

This power must be what Lu Zhiyu had sensed earlier. It had shielded itself from his telepathic power. Lu Zhiyu had read it in Charlie Andrew's mind. It was the legendary—Cain's Left-hand.

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Chapter 102: The Palm of Silicon-based Life

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After the initiation rite, Nicholas Debye conducted a series of religious rites. As is customary with the legends and mysterious culture, the people knelt on the floor and chanted "The Book of Nod". It was said that this was the vampire's sacred book.

Lu Zhiyu became impatient, waiting as they were going through the series of rites. There were so many people around, and no one would have noticed if he went missing. He kept looking at the dome. He was certain that something was there, but a special field had prevented him from looking in.

As the light rays shone in from the windows above, a hazy light appeared at the very top. Lu Zhiyu could feel something moving, a strange force spreading out. They were using electricity!

Lu Zhiyu knew that something was at the top, and that the movement had been triggered by electricity. In the middle of the dome was the shadow of a huge, black inverted cross. It was about a few meters long, and it seemed to be mounted in the middle.

Following the appearance of the black inverted cross, the angels that were hanging there seemed to have suddenly come to life. Then, they quickly turned into devils! This was a special light effect used to heighten the atmosphere. Lu Zhiyu's eyes brightened up, as he realized he saw what he had wanted to see.

The black inverted cross had been created by man. There was a black palm hiding in the center, and it was emitting golden lights. The palm was bigger than ordinary palms, and Lu Zhiyu estimated that it must be around three meters tall.

As the black inverted cross had been activated, Lu Zhiyu could feel a special field spreading out, covering the entire hall. This field consumed all the lights, leaving the entire hall in total darkness.

Other than the other three members, who had just joined the Clan, the rest of the people gathered were not at all surprised. They had obviously experienced it before. The field had been emitted by the black palm, which did not belong to any human or carbon-based life. Rather, it was formed by a fine, golden structure, which had life within it.

The field that it emitted contained a special energy, which not only disrupted Lu Zhiyu's detection power, as it affected everyone's magnetic field within their body. It was this rite that would prolong the people's lifespans and heal their diseases.

After having lost visibility, due to the darkness, Lu Zhiyu forced his mental strength to check on the black palm. The power of the black field immediately clashed with his mental strength and was dissipated. Lu Zhiyu could now see the inner part of the core, but he was still blocked by the black palm. It had obstructed him from receiving any information.

Lu Zhiyu finally realized that Cain's Left-hand was compiled of technology and a higher life. It was unlike the blood race that Lu Zhiyu had at first thought of linking it to. He had thought that he would be able to see something supernatural, like the vampire or, perhaps something even more frightening. He had even wondered if those legendary gods existed. He had definitely not expected such an outcome as this.

This was the silicon-based life that Lu Zhiyu had thought of before, but had never actual seen. Scientists had thought about it, and there were prophecies regarding it, but now, Lu Zhiyu had seen it for himself.

Vatican Clan had researched it, or else they would not now be able to use it. They knew that the energy field could regulate and aid in the growth of the body, and they had used it to heal the body. This was a similar technique to what Lu Zhiyu had developed.

Lu Zhiyu was curious. If research had found this metal-based life, could he create metal-based life as well? Such as a real metal alchemist life, unlike the eternal life alchemy boat that he had previously created? He had then used plant cells to surround his, but now, he could directly use metal.

After much observation, Lu Zhiyu decided to get ahold of the object, in order to research materials, so that he could take a better look at it. His interest in Vatican Clan grew, and he hoped to be able to have a talk with Nicholas Debye.

He was also interested in the energy field that could shield and influence his mental strength. How could a palm do such a job?

As soon as the life field of the palm had been released, it had been dissipated. All the members of the Clan screamed, and Nicholas Debye hurriedly pressed the earpiece onto his ears. He instructed the staff to charge up the inverted cross. Very soon after, the dark energy field had been activated, resuming operation.

After the rite had ended, Lu Zhiyu could see that the diseases in the people had been healed. Their complexions and muscles became more taut. Wrinkles on the older folks had also smoothed out. The new members found it unbelievable, starting to scream in shock.

No one had expected the prayer ceremony to be so powerful. Many of them had seen the black inverted cross, but they did not know the reason for its presence. They could only give credit to Nicholas Debye, for having such a supernatural power. He belonged to the race of the vampires, just like Charlie Andrew. They trusted Nicholas Debye completely, hoping that one day, they could also become one of the blood race via the embrace rite.

After the rite had ended, all the members left happily. Many of them went down for a drink, or just to have fun. It would be more appropriate to say that Vatican Clan was a prestigious club with a mysterious tinge of religion, rather than to classify it as being a religious group. The monthly prayer ceremony was more like a mega Cosplay.

Attendees came more for socializing, rather than to participate in the prayer ceremony. They wanted to widen their circles and influences. When faced with a difficult situation, a phone call to a friend might just settle the problem. Moreover, opportunities might arise out of it.

Charlie Andrew finally found Lu Zhiyu in the crowd. He said, "Anthony, why are you here? Come. Come with me. Mr. Debye would like to see you!"

Lu Zhiyu pretended to look shocked and said, "Mr. Debye? Is he the one who was standing on stage?"

Charlie nodded and said, "That's right. Other than the prayer ceremony, very few people get the chance to see him. It will do you good to know him."

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Chapter 103: Nicholas Debye

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Lu Zhiyu met Nicholas Debye in one of the offices on the top floor. He had taken care of himself very well. With the help of the special field from the black palm, although he was already past 50 years of age, he could still pass as little over 20 years old. Should this continue, Lu Zhiyu believed that he could live up to the age of 130, and even 140.

However, no matter how youthful one looked, the body would not function so well, as one aged. No matter how healthy one was, he would not outlive the lifespan of man, nor would he have the vitality and energy of a young person.

Nicholas Debye sat on a chair beside the window and said to Lu Zhiyu, "Mr. Anthony, please take a seat."

Lu Zhiyu sat opposite Nicholas, facing the window. He could see the street. This is the tallest building in London, and as one looked down, all the tall buildings appeared small. Men and vehicles looked like ants crawling on the street.

"When a man possesses wealth, status, and women, he will need to reach even a higher level in order to fulfill his spiritual needs. Is Mr. Anthony happy with the event?"

Lu Zhiyu found Nicholas interesting. He said, "Is that why you have used the palm of silicon-based life to set up Vatican Clan?"

Nicholas was stunned for a while, then laughed loudly. "You have found out! There's nothing bad about it. I have fun, and everyone has benefited. All of us get what we want. This is a party for the blood race."

"That was indeed Cain's Left-hand. A few hundred years ago, when it was being found, that was what people called it. It can be called the claws of Satan, or the devil's hand. You can call it anything. Cain was indeed the legendary silicon-based life!"

After Lu Zhiyu had finished talking, Nicholas Debye looked at him curiously and said, "Who are you, Mr. Anthony? Where do you come from? Are you Mu Tao, Zhang Xing, or Lu Chen?"

Nicholas had run a background check on Lu Zhiyu. According to the information received from his network, as long as a person existed in this world, he would leave behind some traces. However, this man, known as Anthony, had left no traces behind. The identities that he had used were real, but they did not belong to him. Nicholas had, based on his looks, height, and data, run a check on Lu Zhiyu, but he could not find anything.

This man seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere. Nicholas found Lu Zhiyu to be extremely mysterious. He seemed to be related to the mysterious force that Nicholas had shown interest in ever since his youth.

Lu Zhuyi found Nicholas to be amusing. Nicholas had linked him with the werewolf vampires in the Western world. Instead of explaining, Lu Zhiyu imitated Charlie Andrew and said, "Would you like to see a different kind of world?"

Nicholas was taken aback. Lu Zhiyu smiled mysteriously and flicked his fingers. Immediately, he and Nicholas disappeared together, along with the chairs that they were sitting on, and appeared at the pyramid in Egypt. When Lu Zhiyu had toured around the world, he had left behind a tactical deployment circle to the dimensional door.

Nicholas seemed to be in a trance. He saw that the world had changed. As he looked at his surroundings, he felt weak. He tried to stand up, but he felt a bit wobbly on his legs. He looked shocked and said, "How can this be? This is an illusion. This must be an illusion, right?"

Lu Zhiyu said, jokingly, "Is this an illusion?"

Nicholas could feel the sun shining on him, his feet on solid ground. He smelled the special air in the open space. He had been to this place three years ago. This was the Great Pyramid of Giza. He had even seen the Sphinx. He looked at the view of the surroundings and the familiar vast sky. It was similar to what he remembered. When the tourists were taking pictures, they noticed Lu Zhiyu and Nicholas and started to scream.

"Oh no, we have been discovered."

Lu Zhiyu sat on the chair and flicked his fingers again. Both of them appeared on the top of a mountain. As long as Lu Zhiyu had left behind the tactical deployment circle to the dimensional door, he could enter at any time.

Their location at present was a mountain in the Serengeti. At the foot of the mountain was a prairie. As the wind blew past, the fresh air made one feel relaxed. Lu Zhiyu looked at Nicholas, seeing that he was still in a daze.

"Don't you like it? How about this?"

They appeared in a blue world. The sky and sea were in a line. As the wind blew, the waters rippled on the surface of the deep sea, flowing toward a faraway place. There was total silence, and it made one feel calm.

Both of them were sitting on their chairs, floating on the sea. However, it did not seem like there was water under their feet. They felt as though a solid object was supporting them. At that moment in time, it seemed that there was only the two of them in the entire world.

Lu Zhiyu stood up and stepped on the surface of the sea. He looked down and saw his own reflection in the water. "The earth is a beautiful place, isn't it, Nicholas Debye?"

Nicholas recovered from his surprise and said excitedly to Lu Zhiyu, "Who…who…are you? How did you do it?"

Lu Zhiyu disappeared into thin air, then reappeared behind the sofa chair that Nicholas was sitting on and said, "This is just a simple transmission technique. Are you curious?"

Nicholas stood up excitedly and said, "Of course. I am very curious. I find it unbelievable, and I cannot understand how you manage to do it."

Nicholas stood on the surface of the water, realizing immediately that he did not sink. He put his fingers into the water to confirm that it was indeed the sea. He could even see Lu Zhiyu's reflection in the water.

Both of them were facing each other, as Lu Zhiyu said, "This world does not consist solely of mankind. You have already known this, haven't you?"

"You can say that we are astral businessmen. We shuttle between the universe and the dimensional place, and trade in the different worlds. A few months ago, our starship crashed onto the moon. We are now looking for a way to repair that starship."

Upon hearing this, Nicholas suddenly came to a realization, before inquiring of Lu Zhiyu, "Recently, the world went into total darkness. Was it caused by you? You are so powerful. How did you do it?"

That incident caused an uproar all around the world. Many had attributed it to God switching off the lights. Many scientists and the science fanatics had studied the incident from different angles. This had been a hot topic until now. Needless to say, Nicholas knew of it. Lu Zhiyu nodded, not feeling the need to explain any further.

At this moment, both of them had returned to the office in The Shard. Lu Zhiyu disappeared into thin air, reappearing in front of the bar. After looking around, he took out a bottle of brandy, then appeared back in his seat. He then poured the brandy into two glasses.

"We are looking for partners. What do you think, Mr. Nicholas Debye? Are you interested?"

Although Nicholas was a great fan of the occult, he was no longer a young man. However, he was still adventurous and energetic. He was totally different from the businessman that Lu Zhiyu had first thought he was. He was crazy, yet sensible. He asked, "What will I gain from it?"

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Chapter 104: The Astral Businessman

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Nicholas had been deluded by Lu Zhiyu with his stargate transfer, anti-gravity technology, gene-editing technology, bio-technology warehouse, and the antimatter starship, using positron as fuel. Lu Zhiyu had quoted a series of highly technological stuff.

He had successfully gained the trust of Nicholas Debye, thanks to his supernatural powers and promises. Both of them had come to an agreement that Nicholas would register a new company, AB Technology Company Limited, which was the abbreviation for astral businessmen.

Nicholas had transferred two of his companies under AB Technology, one of which was Bio-technology Company Limited. Lu Zhiyu had requested for the laboratory staff and researchers to be transferred as well. Another was a company in the United States, which dealt with satellite communications.

This included a private island that Nicholas had owned in the South Pacific, known as Byrne Island. This island was a private property of the Debye family, and did not belong to any country. It took its name after Nicholas' great-grandfather. It had been built for many decades, and had a small landing field. Yet the area itself was big.

Lu Zhiyu would build his base there, and try to repair and rebuild his starship. After which, he would return to his planet. This was what Lu Zhiyu had told Nicholas Debye. What he truly wanted, however, was to build a starship, which he did not possess currently, that was able to fly out into the universe.

A man's dream, including Lu Zhiyu's, was to conquer the starry sky. He hoped that one day, he could travel to the sky and widen his horizons. He would like to see the beauty and fantasies of the entire universe.

With his own efforts, he would not be able to achieve this goal. He would need money, resources, knowledge, technical staff and many other things. This would be a big project. Lu Zhiyu had thought of this all before, but since he had met Nicholas Debye, he could now tap into Nicholas' resources to realize his dream.

Although Lu Zhiyu was extremely powerful, his power could not help him realize these things. With Nicholas Debye's help, he would be released of much of the burden, and could build his starship more quickly. Nicholas would also get what he wanted. Lu Zhiyu had promised to provide him with the evolved plasma, which was the legendary longevity pill. It would be developed by Biological Research Institute, owned by AB Technology. During the initial stage, they would supply the evolved plasma only to the members of Vatican Clan.

Nicholas Debye would like to make use of this opportunity to influence the whole world, from a high-end social club to an organization that could control the world's economy. Nicholas believed that no man could resist the temptation of immortality.

Nicholas and Vatican Clan would supply the necessary resources, money, and talents to AB Technology, and AB Technology would provide them with the evolved plasma. They would share part of the space technology, gene-editing technology, and life engineering technology to promote and help man in the development of civilization.

Although Lu Zhiyu had nothing on hand at the moment, since he had already bragged about it, he would think about that problem later. He had to get his hands on the things that he wanted, now. As long as Nicholas Debye would supply him with the money and manpower to build his starship, nothing else mattered.

When things got out of hand, it would be too late for them to do anything him. At worst, Lu Zhiyu would simply have to escape from the earth in his starship. These ignorant people would not be able to go after him.

Lu Zhiyu lifted up his glass and said with a smile, "Come, let's cheer our success."

Nicholas Debye quickly lifted up his glass and said, "Of course. I am honored that you have chosen me to be your spokesman. I hope that we can continue to work together happily."

Lu Zhiyu nodded his head in satisfaction. "Of course. I believe we will be the best partners. I will visit you in a week. By then, I hope you will have prepared what we need. Similarly, we will bring the evolved plasma to you, as promised."

Nicholas Debye asked, "Can I name to this special evolved plasma?"

Lu Zhiyu was stunned for a while, and then said, "Of course. Those who inject the evolved plasma will have their lifespans prolonged to more than 1,000 years. Everyone will look beautiful and graceful. They will have strong bodies and great recovery powers. As long as the head is not hurt, they will not die. We will give you some special powers, so that you can release special waves to hypnotize, brainwash, and give out commands."

Nicholas Debye was extremely excited. "That is great. That is awesome. This is like the blood race that I have imagined. This is the dominating technique that I have thought of. I would like to name the evolved plasma Embrace."

Lu Zhiyu stood up and said, "As you wish. I will see you in a week's time."

Before he finished his sentence, Lu Zhiyu had disappeared from Nicholas' office. Nicholas was extremely excited and could not sit still. He had never thought that he would come across such a great opportunity through a normal prayer ceremony. It could help him fulfill his wish and, at the same time, provide another great opportunity to the Debyes.

"I have met an astral businessman, of the real interstellar civilization. I must grab hold of this opportunity." Nicholas Debye did not realize that he was mentally abnormal. He trusted Lu Zhiyu completely, and had no qualms about what Lu Zhiyu had said. Lu Zhiyu's actions and words had excited him greatly, and this was also due to the fact that Lu Zhiyu had influenced him mentally.

"Perfect. Beautiful. Flawless. I can be a perfect being as well."

"No. I must play a piece of music. What shall I play? Let's…"

Nicholas sat down and found traces of water on the floor. He looked down and saw sea water and mud on the legs of the sofa chair.

———–

Lu Zhiyu was in a good mood. He had never expected himself to get such a good bargain. He would be getting the remains of a silicon-based life, and had obtained a sponsor for building his starship. He had gained more than he had expected.

Although Lu Zhiyu had not received the remains of the silicon-based life, Nicholas would have it delivered to Byrne Island. There was no hurry.

"One more thing. The construction of the space exploration research base and the development of the starship must be well-planned, from scratch."

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Chapter 105: The Second Batch of Wizard Apprentices

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the hall of Wizard Tower, Lu Zhiyu looked at the apprentices. They were about the same in number as had gathered the previous year. Some of them had even been recommended by the previous batch of apprentices, which themselves had been the original elites selected by Lu Zhiyu himself. Some of them had extraordinary abilities, like Bohr and Li Weisi.

For this batch, many of them had started with meditation. They had used the meditation methods, which some of the wizards had modified, and those ones taught at Wizard Tower. If he could find one or two apprentices of Uruk's caliber, Lu Zhiyu would be happy.

Without saying a word, Lu Zhiyu hosted the admissions ceremony. All the apprentices left the hall of the castle looking happy. Lu Zhiyu looked at both sides of the seats. There were nine students. The first one, sitting in the front row, was Bohr.

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look Lu Zhiyu in the eyes. The atmosphere was intimidating. Lights were glittering in the castle, and no one dared say a word. Bohr was the first to stand up. After taking a deep breath, he bowed to Lu Zhiyu.

"Teacher, Li Weisi had come to me previously. It is my fault that I was unable to stop him."

"How many people have died, Bohr?"

Bohr dared not look at Lu Zhiyu. He said, "Li Weisi, Henry, Agra, Dellas, Blair…"

Lu Zhiyu was familiar with the list of people that Bohr had named. Li Weisi and Henry were the first batch of trainers, who had been appointed by Lu Zhiyu. Other than Bohr, Li Weisi was one of the most talented wizards. Li Weisi was creative, and also was the next to breakthrough to level three wizard.

"Besides this, the entire Light Clan and other countries have started to suppress us. Even the orcs do not welcome us. The saints of Light Clan had ordained the first generation of priests, and they possess extraordinary ability. They have been searching out and capturing our people."

"We can only hide ourselves from them. There are not many priests, and unless the saints are here, they will not pose a threat to us. However, Li Weisi's behavior had caused us to be ostracized by the people. Be it the nobles or ordinary people, none of them welcome us."

Bohr was about to continue, when Lu Zhiyu shook his head and said, "Bohr, sit down. I have nothing to say about it. It is fair that Li Weisi has died. Man has to take responsibility for the silly things that he has done. The price is too dear for Li Weisi, and he can only repay it with his life."

"I know that there are people who agree with Li Weisi and Henry. However, I hope that all of you will think before you act. You must ask yourself if you are prepared to pay the price."

As compared to Li Weisi, Lu Zhiyu favored Bohr more. Li Weisi was too somber, materialistic, and overly anxious for success. Although Lu Zhiyu did not think that Li Weisi was wrong, he did not like it.

As for Bohr, he was similar to Lu Zhiyu, in terms of his character and many other aspects. He was meticulous, optimistic, objective and systematic in his work. He was patient, and had planned well for his life. However, he was not a risk-taker, like Lu Zhiyu, and he abided strictly by the rules. He dared not challenge conventional ideas.

Lu Zhiyu looked at his nine students in white wizard robes. They were the first batch of trainers in the tower. Lu Zhiyu nodded and said, "From tomorrow onward, you will be conducting the trainings. Other than the highest level in Wizard Tower, which needs to be authorized, you can have free access to all levels."

"Bohr will be in charge of the laboratories in levels 10 and 11. When I am not around, he will be acting on my behalf."

"Wendy and Wofter will be in charge of the botanical garden in level nine. You will also be the trainers for phytology and teach the apprentices how to use their mental strengths."

"Uruk will be in charge of the beast prison in level eight."

"Akat will teach alchemy."

"…"

After assigning the tasks, Lu Zhiyu got ready to leave. Bohr asked, "Teacher, are you not staying in the tower?"

Lu Zhiyu usually visited the tower a few times a month. Bohr and the rest were used to this routine. He nodded to Bohr and said, "The few of you will be in charge of the tower from now on. I will visit you more frequently."

Wendy stood up and asked, "Teacher, where are you planning to go?"

Lu Zhiyu thought for a while and said, "I will be going to the astral, outside Maria's World. Other than this world, there is a huge astral. It is a plane full of stars. Maria's World is a small, insignificant world."

Lu Zhiyu looked at his students and said, "One day, when you reach level seven and become mythical wizards, then I will bring you to the astral. Level seven is the beginning of the wizards' journeys. It is only then that you will be able to survive in the astral."

What Lu Zhiyu had said had caused his students to talk excitedly among themselves. To them, Maria's World was huge beyond their imaginations. There were the lands and the deep sea that they had not yet explored. They would need to use their entire lifetimes to explore the world. There were also many secrets that they would like to explore and seek out.

They had never thought of other planes and the astral besides Maria's World. They had never even heard of them. Maria's World was everything to them.

Wendy opened her mouth wide and said, "Astral? Plane? Does that mean that the world that we are in is insignificant?"

Bohr found it amazing and unbelievable as well. What kind of world had his teacher seen? As compared to him, Bohr felt like a frog in the well. What he and the others had seen was only a small part of the world.

Lu Zhiyu had humbled everyone with what he had said. They started to hold the world in awe. Bohr could barely wait to travel to the planes and see a different world. He wanted to see these amazing things that his teacher had mentioned.

Lu Zhiyu stood up and put on his blue and white checkered robe. The fire in the fireplace was burning fiercely. He stood before the flames and said, "Bohr, I will leave Wizard Tower under your care. I hope you will be different from Li Weisi. Bring the true light to the world."

Having said that, Lu Zhiyu disappeared before the fireplace. Bohr bowed and said, "Teacher Anthony, please believe me. I will definitely let you see a different world, and a different Wizard Tower."

Bohr stood up and stood before the long table. His eyes were filled with hope and enthusiasm.

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Chapter 106: Transition to an Extraordinary World

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Bohr took over the duties of taking care of the tower from Lu Zhiyu. As he had been practicing medicine and compiling medical books for a number of years, he was already familiar with the structure of the human body and the mysteries inside the body.

When he was in his hometown, Bohr had completed his elementary studies in medicine within a few years. Many professional doctors arose from the Duchy of Gracchus. There were even large clinics in the area. The Kelermo Medical Coding, written by Bohr, had been accepted by the doctors as being likened to the bible of medicine. Within five years, the information therein had spread throughout the entire human world. Even the orcs had heard Bohr Kelermo's name.

Bohr Kelermo had also been known as the founder of medicine. He had been traveling to the different countries in order to practice medicine and promote healing. Other than training medical students and setting up clinics, Bohr seldom appeared in public. Beyond this, he was quite secretive with his whereabouts. Many had thought that Bohr was busy promoting medicine or writing his book, but no one had suspected that he was an evil wizard, who had gone to the Wizard Tower and become a trainer for the wizards.

These years, Bohr had developed many ways to alter the body. He had improvised the plants illustration handbook as well. What he wanted most, was to collect the characteristics of the plants in Maria's World and change the illustration handbook completely. This could not be easily done by just one or two generations. Rather, it required a lot of people to work on it continuously.

When the plants illustration handbook had been improvised, Bohr broke down the items on alchemy further, and expanded on the study of pharmacy. Bohr had invented a large amount of medicine that was practical, much of which could be used on the wizards.

After returning to the Wizard Tower, Bohr gathered all the wizards and his ex-classmates, and proceeded with the development of his second big project. He wanted to collect the illustrated handbook of the animals in Maria's World, including those magic beasts, which were to be listed out separately. This was the most important task of all.

In the 16th year of the San calendar, an extraordinary power existed in Maria's World. It had been a few decades ago, 50 years ago in fact, when the descendants of sakun appeared in large quantities on the surface of the sea. These were extraordinary sea beasts, which, as they grew and mutated, gradually turned into sea monsters.

The sahagins, dragon rajas, and the different types of monsters that Lu Zhiyu had created, had gradually appeared in the human world and in the lands these few years. Specifically, they had appeared in the eastern prairie, the swamps of Maria Kingdom, deserts, and many other places.

These monsters crossbred with other species, most of them producing deformed offspring. Some were ordinary wild beasts, but a new monster race continued to be born from it as well.

These extraordinary monsters started to move around, and had been discovered by mankind. Men called them monsters, which meant that they were wild beasts that had the power of the devil. They were vicious and powerful, and were notorious among mankind. As they had only started to multiply in the past 10 years, only a small number of them had appeared before men. Although they had affected the people's lives, they did not create trouble.

The dragon rajas, which Lu Zhiyu had bred, had turned into youth. They were the intelligent race. They knew the dragon language, and were able to use special witchcraft that belonged only to the dragon rajas. As they grew, their extraordinary powers would slowly be awakened, and they would become more powerful.

Those that were below five years old were known as whelps. Those five to 15 years old were known as fledglings. Those who were over 15 years old, and about to enter into their youth, could only fight with their breath and claws. To the ordinary men and wild beasts, they were powerful. However, to the wizards, priests, and monsters, they were weak. After they were past their youth, the extraordinary powers of the dragon rajas would be awakened. As they became even older, they would be more powerful and formidable. It would be then that they would display their dragon characteristics.

They were now hiding in the remote mountains, oceans, and deserts, training their claws. When they had matured, and possessed the different extraordinary powers, this group of sensitive people, including the wizards, would sense a drastic change in the world.

Bohr was starting to feel the change, which was why he had started to create the animals illustration handbook, the most important of which was the monsters illustration handbook. He started to research on the source of the monsters' extraordinary power, and during the process, he researched more into the animal cells and human cells. Bohr had hoped to develop a power system that belonged to the wizards from the research.

The Wizard Tower and the beast prison (or it should be more appropriate to call it the beast circle, or base for breeding the young), when Lu Zhiyu built this prison, it was not meant for locking up the monsters. He had meant to use it to breed and observe the monsters. Most of them were young or impregnated beasts. He observed their growth and corresponding extraordinary powers within the prison.

After they had grown up, they would be released into the dark woods. Sometimes, Lu Zhiyu would capture special beasts or new monsters, locking them up in the prison if they were destructive. When Lu Zhiyu built the beast prison, he had built different beast circles for the different types of monsters. He had designed it specifically to ensure that they would not be able to escape from the prison.

The beast prison had not been of much use to Lu Zhiyu in the later stages. Those monsters that had been locked up were low level monsters. He had let the students in the Wizard Tower use it in order to identify the different species, and to study the extraordinary powers of the monsters.

Bohr knelt beside the prison of a small monster, writing on the sheep scroll with his quill. "Mountain rift beast, extraordinary power, break down rocks, pedigree of monster…"

"Pipi demon, extraordinary power, control the skin color and visibility…"

Uruk stood beside him, bored, and said, "Bohr, you come here daily, and whenever you are here, you spend the whole day watching them. I don't think you can find out anything. What are you trying to do? Are you trying to mix the blood of the monsters? Have we not tested this before? It is useless. Those few apes have all died."

Bohr shook his head and said, "I have a new discovery. The abilities of the monsters were not as what we had first perceived. They were not stimulated from the blood, but from their organs. Every monster has its own special casting organ."

Bohr looked at Uruk and said, "If we can discover their secrets, we will be able to merge their strengths and control their extraordinary powers. We will then be able to develop a new field of witchcraft."

Uruk was stunned for a while, then asked, "Do you think this is possible?"

Bohr nodded and said, "I have a theory, but I have to try it out. What do you think I have been doing for the whole day, while watching them? I have decided to name this witchcraft the Blood Witchcraft. This witchcraft has been developed from the body transformation technique created by Teacher. This body transformation technique was indeed all-powerful. We can derive multiple witchcrafts from it."

Should Bohr be able to develop the Blood Witchcraft, they would then reach the level of extraordinary power, placing them on the same level as the priests and monsters, and giving them the ablity to release their witchcraft through any media. This power would be truly extraordinary.

Bohr had not known that his discovery would cause the first division among the wizards. Previously, the wizards had released sub-standard witchcraft. However, when the Blood Witchcraft had been developed, a large batch of real Blood Wizards would be formed.

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Chapter 107: The Development of Blood Witchcraft

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the 17th year of the San calendar, when Bohr Kelermo was compiling the illustration handbooks for the animals and monsters, he found the secret as to how the monsters released their extraordinary powers. From then on, he started to study about transplanting the blood of the monsters.

By autumn, he had carried out many tests on transplanting the organs of the monsters in Wizard Tower. However, the rate of success was extremely low. The death rate was more than 50 percent, and even when there were no deaths, the organs that had been formed by deified cells countercharged, turning one into a terrifying creature.

In the 18th year of the San calendar, Bohr went to the Batko Empire, a Desert Kingdom, together with Wofter and Uruk. They had captured a strange creature that had devoured the people of many villages. It was known as the Double-headed Magic Eagle. Its body was strong, and its wings were as hard as steel. Ordinary arrows, and even witchcraft, were not able to hurt it. Its claws could even leave deep marks on steel.

As long as the villagers saw the Double-headed Magic Eagle flying within the borders of the Batko Empire, they were panic-stricken. And the being was not only notorious in the Batko Empire, as all the neighboring countries knew of its existence, too.

Although the Double-headed Magic Eagle was not as powerful and destructive as the monsters, its cannibalistic characteristic was more horrifying than many other powerful creatures. Moreover, it could fly, so this made it extremely difficult to capture. This had been a great problem for the Batko Empire. They had sent the Blood Knights a number of times to capture it, but they always failed to track it down.

A wizard, who was living in the nearby village, had told Bohr about it. After understanding its characteristics and abilities, he set forth to the Batko Empire with Wofter and Uruk.

What caught Bohr's interest, was the Double-headed Magic Eagle's ability to regenerate. He believed that this ability could increase the success rate of transplanting the organs of the monsters. Bohr had also found that, when transplanting the organs, if the recipient was calm and did not show much resistance, the success rate would be higher. It was similar to the state of meditation. Bohr felt that, if the recipient was meditating when receiving the transplant, the success rate would be higher.

Bohr had chosen the Double-headed Magic Eagle as the first to transplant its spellcasting organ, due to its strong body. It was highly ranked among the monsters. Moreover, it could fly, and its extraordinary power was to regenerate its cells.

Its heart was its spellcasting organ, and it contained a large amount of energy. When it got hurt, it could regenerate its cells. As long as its heart and brain were not damaged, it would not die. Previously, a small troop of highly ranked Blood Knights from the Batko Empire had tried to trap the Double-headed Magic Eagle. It had been pierced by the ballista, burned in the fire, shot with poisoned arrows, and still, it did not die. Although it had been badly injured, it had killed the troop of Blood Knights before escaping. Later, it took revenge, killing the people of a few villages at the border of the Batko Empire.

Its strong living power was astounding. Bohr, Uruk, and Wofter tracked the Double-headed Magic Eagle's nest using witchcraft. They set up a trap and injured it seriously, but it still escaped. The three of them flew and pursued it, using their mental strength. Although the speed of a low ranking wizard was slow, they had no problem in pursuing and fighting. Finally, they caught up with the Double-headed Magic Eagle and captured it.

Bohr broke its wings. The Double-headed Magic Eagle was exhausted, and they brought it back to Wizard Tower. They prepared themselves to transplant its spellcasting organ. Previously, they had used animals to test it out, but this time around, Bohr would be testing it on himself, a wizard, a human being.

Although some of the trainers had tried to persuade Bohr to choose a man or apprentice for the test, Bohr refused. He insisted on being the first guinea pig.

"Are you ready?" Uruk was Bohr's good friend. Other than Bohr, he had been deeply involved in the research on body transformation technique. Naturally, he would be the one to perform the operation, transplanting the spellcasting organ.

Bohr laid on the bench and looked at Uruk and the few trainers. Although some of them did not agree with Bohr, so far, he had been fair to everyone, so they respected him and his wishes.

Catherine looked worried and said to Bohr, "Bohr, why don't we wait for Teacher Anthony? It is too dangerous for you to do this."

Bohr shook his head and said, "It is all right. I have done many tests. Moreover, Uruk will be the one to operate on me, so I have no worries. Let's start, Uruk. We have run through the steps. Everything will be fine. I trust you."

Uruk removed Bohr's heart, then placed the heart of the Double-headed Magic Eagle into Bohr's body. When Uruk had completed the transplant, and was about to sew up the wound, Bohr's body began to shiver violently. It seemed to be under tremendous stress. Everyone could feel Bohr's mental strength surging crazily.

"What is happening?" Uruk dropped his scalpel on the floor, at a loss. This was unexpected.

Wofter was the first to recollect himself. He looked back and shouted, "Have we failed? Quick, proceed with our backup plan. We must save Bohr."

The few trainers quickly prepared themselves. Catherine took a deep breath and said, "That's right. As long as Bohr is alive, Teacher Anthony will be able to save him."

The wound on Bohr's chest started to heal by itself. Very soon after, a large amount of feathers started to appear on his body. A great transformation took place, and Bohr started to look half human and half eagle.

Bohr stood up and his clothes tore apart. His palms and feet had turned into sharp claws. The feathers on his arms kept growing, then turned into a pair of wings. With a howl, Bohr broke through the wooden door and flew away from the window in the hall.

All the wizards in Wizard Tower were flustered. They ran out and saw Bohr's half human and half eagle look. He circled around Wizard Tower and flew up into the sky of the dark forest. After a long while, he flew back to the laboratory of Wizard Tower.

All of them crowded around him and asked, "Bohr, how do you feel?"

The feathers on Bohr's body were black in color, and his palms and legs were covered with scales. There were long hooks on the sharp claws of his toes. When he walked, he left long scratches on the floor. He had turned into a horrifying creature that was half human and half eagle. The moment Bohr sat on the long chair, the feathers on his body shrank, allowing him to then take back the form of a man.

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Chapter 108: The Blood Wizard

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Bohr's clothes had been torn apart and he was naked. A few female trainers blushed upon seeing it. Uruk immediately took the bedsheet and wrapped it around Bohr, who now seemed extremely tired as he lay on the long chair. It took him quite a while to recover. He held the bedsheet and stood up. As he stood on the floor, the scales on his legs disappeared, and he got back his human feet. The feathers and scales on his cheeks had disappeared, and he became normal.

When Uruk saw Bohr's current look, he was excited and said, "Bohr, have we succeeded?"

Bohr nodded and said, "That's right. We have succeeded. I have the heart of the Double-headed Magic Eagle. I can now understand. The monsters have inherited a special blood, just like us. However, they are more powerful and have extraordinary power."

"The cellular structure of their spellcasting organs is similar to the deified cells of level four wizards that Teacher has mentioned. The cells control the mental strength and possess special properties of the mental strength. In the process of transplanting the spellcasting organs, we are transplanting the mental strength as well. It's no wonder that, when one starts to resist, the operation will be a failure."

Bohr said excitedly, "I feel that the blood of the Double-headed Magic Eagle is compatible to mine. Its ability is to control the cells and regenerate them. I have a strong recovery power and can transform myself into the Magic Eagle. I also have strong combat power now."

When a wizard had the ability and body of the Magic Eagle, coupled with his mental strength and witchcraft, it would turn the world upside down. The extraordinary power would have different effects on the monsters and wizards.

Akat looked at Bohr and said, "Not only this, but the ability to regenerate will have a strong impact on the body transformation technique, too. Previously, we did not dare try the transformation technique, as the success rate was extremely low. Now, we can use it on ourselves. This is very powerful to you, as you are specialized in body transformation technique. Moreover…"

Akat was about to continue, when he saw the looks on Bohr's and Uruk's faces. "Forget it. Both of you have already known this. When you decided to transplant the blood of the Double-headed Magic Eagle, you must have already thought of that. I have been talking too much."

Bohr laughed and said, "We have succeeded this time, but there are still a lot of problems. I cannot be taking the form of the Magic Eagle for long. I might not be able to change back. We have to research more into it, and increase the success rate of transplanting spellcasting organs. If we have more knowledge on the various methods of transplanting the spellcasting organs, that will increase our power."

Bohr looked at all the trainers and said, "In the future, not only me, but all of you can try transplanting the different spellcasting organs. You can have extraordinary powers too."

After seeing that Bohr had succeeded, all the wizards had the wish of possessing extraordinary powers. Although some of the witchcrafts were more powerful than extraordinary powers, they had to be performed through a media, and were not as convenient. The extraordinary power could be released any time and no media was required. It would be a great breakthrough for self-protection and for handling different crises. The power of the wizards would be greatly enhanced as well.

Uruk said with much excitement, "Bohr has said before, this type of witchcraft is known as Blood Witchcraft. The wizard, who has received the transplant, will be known as Blood Wizard. Congratulations, Bohr. As what Teacher Anthony has said, you have developed a path that belongs to the wizards' out of the body transformation technique."

Bohr was extremely happy, but he immediately said, "Teacher Anthony's realm is beyond us. I have only started my journey as a wizard. I am just touching the tip of the iceberg."

In the 18th year of the San calendar, Bohr Kelermo created the line of Blood Wizard, the most orthodox line of wizards in Maria's World. These wizards specialized in researching the abilities of monsters, breeding them, and cultivating the offspring of the different monsters. The wizards crossbred them, and even merged them together, then transplanted their extraordinary organs into their bodies. The wizards developed different extraordinary powers, and even those in the lower levels possessed some basic extraordinary powers. They no longer have to depend on the media to release their extraordinary powers.

—————

Teacher Anthony, who was the most respected in Wizard Tower, was in the outer realm of Maria's World. He was in the astral, circling and exploring the outer part of Maria's World in the form of a dream.

As Lu Zhiyu had said, he would like to go out to the astral. After he had built the krynnspace, there was one and a half planes. One was Maria's World, and the other half was the dimensional castle that was hanging onto Maria's World. The astral in the krynnspace was empty, with only darkness and nothing in it. Lu Zhiyu could only check on the situations in Maria's World using his mental strength.

The condition in the astral was extremely harsh for living things, including deified beings. One would gradually die in such a world without matter and resources. The dream control that Lu Zhiyu had used, could absorb light. Based on the light, the deified cells could tap into its energy. In the astral, there was no light, energy, or matter. The deified cells would gradually die. Previously, sakun had to feed on food to enable its deified cells to mutate. Without food, it would have starved to death.

During this period, other than carrying out tests in the dimensional castle, Lu Zhiyu would be checking on the outer part of Maria's World. From the exterior, the entire Maria's World looked like a duck's egg that had been surrounded by a thick layer of bitwall.

The bitwall was not formed by any matter. Rather, when Lu Zhiyu created Maria's World, a dimensional wall had formed naturally on its outer portion. The layers of dimensional folds would allow one to enter, but never to leave.

The sun, moon, and stars in Maria's World hid within the dimensional folds. They traveled around the orbits that were created by Lu Zhiyu, and would rise and set. The four seasons would rotate, and the tides would come and go. These formed the basis of Maria's World. Lu Zhiyu had been curious about the bitwall, but had no idea how it first came about till now.

From the back of Maria's World, Lu Zhiyu entered the dimensional door and went to the top of Maria's World. He could see a source of light coming out from the top. The light brightened up Maria's World, and even passed through the multiple dimensional folds to the outer part of the world. Lu Zhiyu could feel the warmth coming from it.

This was the sun in Maria's World. It was noon, and the sun had rotated on the orbit accordingly. From the exterior of the world, it looked beautiful.

For two years, other than shuttling around in Maria's World, Lu Zhiyu had been trying to create his 'Divine Kingdom' in the bitwall.

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Chapter 109: Gaia 2.0 Transformation Project

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Every life had its own awareness and fusion source, which would transform into mental strength. It could originate from a simple level of awareness. After which, it would then be influenced by reality, and project it out. When the awareness became stronger and complete, it would enter level seven mythical wizard and become a soul. The ordinary lives in Maria's World possessed their own awarenesses. After they died, they would automatically be assimilated by the Map of the Universe, thus filling up the hourglass. They would then become the Source Form of the Map of the Universe.

When some of the powerful wizards, priests, and deities passed away, as their awarenesses were way beyond the ordinary people, they would still linger around in Maria's World and maintain a special form. Without a body, the awareness was without memory, and thus, could not hold any information. It would just wander about, which would create problems in Maria's World.

Lu Zhiyu was thinking of a way to solve the problem and make good use of them. His plan was to create a divine kingdom and hell. The first step would be to create the divine kingdom.

The divine kingdom that Lu Zhiyu was referring to was the dream world, which had been formed by the dream element. It would only house his disciples and deities. As the awareness of this group of people synchronized with the dream world, they could naturally merge into it.

Should other awareness enter into the dream world, the number would be too huge for Lu Zhiyu to handle, which would destroy the dream world. Lu Zhiyu would like to build the first dream world, the divine kingdom.

He would house other types of awareness and souls in hell, since that could accommodate a large quantity. After Lu Zhiyu had gained experience in creating the dream world, he would proceed to create hell.

According to his imagination, the divine kingdom would be hanging in the sky. It would be glittering like the stars in the sky, allowing everyone to see its greatness.

The scales of Lu Zhiyu's mental strength were around 8,000. With these scales, he could create a world close to the real dream world, about the size of a city. As compared to the small villages he had created, its quality would be better. However, to create a huge divine kingdom was unimaginable.

Lu Zhiyu thought of an orderly and progressive approach. The insect nest, Gaia 1.0, had the ability to create a new generation of ant-people. It had a sub-brain, and could assist Lu Zhiyu in completing much of the construction work and plans.

Lu Zhiyu planned to merge Gaia into his dream element, and then transform it into a medium to form his dream world. It would be the prototype of his divine kingdom. This was the first step.

After he had decided on the place's location and coordinates, he returned to the dimensional castle. A large amount of the second generation of the ant-people were busy working, completely ignorant of the fact that they would be eliminated once Gaia 2.0 projected was completed.

The height of the current Gaia was about 20 meters tall. As the light shone on it, the silver sphere emitted bright rays. Lu Zhiyu had transformed it into a special life form that belonged to the dream controller, his second life form.

Lu Zhiyu had added the bio-nuclear energy machine, left behind by the queen insect, Sunika, onto Gaia. It had a functional portion of the aircraft and satellite. It could float in the sky and spy on the people. Lu Zhiyu had preserved the ability of the insect nest. He had intended to use it in the later stage in order to preserve ability, or to create powerful angels.

In the core of Gaia was a sub-brain, formed by the dream element. It controlled Gaia 2.0, and would be the prototype for Lu Zhiyu's divine kingdom. Lu Zhiyu had used up much of the dream elements to create the deified sub-brain. However, he believed that this was a low investment. He would have good returns in the later stage.

"It is about time to start. This is the moment, after two years of preparation." Lu Zhiyu activated Gaia's deified sapient sub-brain. He could feel its form and information flowing together with his thoughts. The entire silver sphere started to float.

The bio-nuclear energy machine within it started to activate. The second version of the insect nest started to show part of the scene, when the insects were powerful. It had a tinge of Lu Zhiyu's character.

Gaia was about six to seven levels tall. Lu Zhiyu activated the dimensional door, sending it to the sky of Maria's World. It went into the bitwall.

The stars were glittering in the night. Lu Zhiyu passed through multiple levels of dimensional folds and finally, he landed on a mysterious place. Stars were hidden in the dimensional folds. They were visible, but it would be difficult to touch them.

It was tough to break through the bitwall. Even if one managed to enter, one would not be able to find his way in the dimensional folds. There were no normal routes that would lead one in a straight line. One might think that he was moving toward a direction, only to find out later that he was moving further away from it.

Together with Gaia, Lu Zhiyu appeared on the brightest star and landed on the moon. The sun had passed through the bitwall and set down at the bottom of Maria's World. Part of its rays refracted on the moon and emitted silvery white rays.

Lu Zhiyu stood on the moon, which was the most desolate star that had nothing in it. However, among the stars, it was the biggest. It had controlled the tides and influenced the four seasons in Maria's World. Thus, it played an important role in getting Maria's World to operate in an orderly manner.

The surface of the moon was vast. It was comparable to the moon in the real world. Lu Zhiyu walked far out, around the moon, with the huge Gaia sphere floating on top of him. After a long while, he finally found a spot. "This is the place."

Lu Zhiyu controlled Gaia, landing it on the moon of Maria's World. Its shape immediately changed. Like an auger machine, it drilled itself into the moon.

Lu Zhiyu looked happy. "Great. I have completed the first step."

According to his plan, after Gaia's deified sub-brain had absorbed a large amount of awareness from the clergies, who had the divine seeds in them, it would gradually strengthen. Its body would be deified and become the second life form of the dream controller.

After which, it would start to devour the moon in Maria's World and continue to grow. Ultimately, it would replace the moon and become the silver moon of Maria's World. It would transform itself into the form of a divine kingdom.

After placing Gaia on the moon, the last step would be to activate the sub-brain to form the dream world. When the dream world had been fixed and had formed the prototype of the divine kingdom, it would accept the awareness of the clergies into the divine kingdom. In the later stage, a divine system would form around it. The clergies would even be able to tap into its power.

"Activate!"

Lu Zhiyu immediately saw Gaia being lit up. The power from the dream element and Lu Zhiyu's awareness and body spread out. His body turned into dream elements and entered into Gaia in order to lead and construct the dream world.

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Chapter 110: The Prototype of Divine Kingdom

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The rays of the sun covered the entire world. The sunshine was gentle and warm, and clouds were hanging around it. A huge divine palace appeared in the sky, with clouds surrounding that as well. It all looked mysterious and magical.

Martin had been dead for a long time. He had lost his memory, but he did not forget to show reverence to the gods. He had a longing to enter into the divine kingdom. Under the guidance of a light, he floated toward the divine kingdom.

Martin's awareness was scattered and out of form. After entering the divine kingdom, he took back his form and his looks. He wore a white robe, and became a saint. He stepped on the clouds and saw the divine kingdom that he had been longing for.

As the holy music sounded, he felt calm and peaceful. He had no troubles or sorrows, only joy. In fact, there were no sorrows, sufferings, tears and even death in this place at all. As Martin moved up the clouds, he reached the palace of god. A beautiful divine palace appeared before his eyes. The fountain of life was in the square, which was made with flawless cloud slabs flooring. Angels with wings were laughing, having fun among the clouds. The handrails of the aisle were made of pure gold. There were beautiful paintings and holy prints all around. The river under the bridge was flowing with sweet milk.

On one side of the clouds, many exotic animals were running about. The legendary Pegasus, unicorn, and other animals could be seen. In the center of the divine palace was the legendary holy tree, which was shining brightly. The rooftop was too tall to be seen, and the ground was filled with golden slabs. Gems were hanging at the top, exuding gentle rays of colorful light. As Martin walked up the stairs, he reached the peak, then entered into the inner hall of the divine palace. It was huge, making Martin felt like an ant in comparison.

There was a heavy, silvery door, engraved with holy pictures. It was about 100 meters tall. After passing through the door, Martin saw a god on the divine seat, floating in the air. The archangels and the angels that had been recorded in the Scripture of Light were standing in two rows to welcome him. Although Martin had lost his memory, he was filled with a strong sense of satisfaction. He knelt down, feeling blessed. He had entered into the divine kingdom and become one of them.

Following closely behind Martin was another person. He was pious and moving toward the divine kingdom in a prostrate position.

Lu Zhiyu could feel the majesty of the divine kingdom. Although it was not big, the basic structures were present. He would continue to improve it in order to turn it into a real divine kingdom.

The controlling force of the divine kingdom would be Gaia's sub-brain. It would be Lu Zhiyu's avatar. However, it only possessed some basic programming, without intelligence. After Lu Zhiyu had fixed the framework, structure, and directions, he would then hand it all over to Gaia's sub-brain, entrusting it to then manage the kingdom. It would be competent enough to do the job.

After the divine kingdom had been formed, it had received the awareness of three disciples. Other than Martin, who had died at the hands of Li Weisi, there were two other priests who had died recently. One of them had died in a conspiracy of the wizards and nobles, and the other had died in a battle with the monster.

The three disciples had the divine seeds in them, and their awarenesses had entered into the divine kingdom. The strength of the divine kingdom immediately went up by one tenth, and the scales increased to around 30. The small, divine kingdom was beginning to expand.

"Good. This will do. I will let it develop by itself." Lu Zhiyu was looking down from the sky of the divine kingdom. He had quietly appeared among the clouds, watching the three disciples entering into the divine kingdom and becoming part of it.

Awareness alone had no memories and identity. When it entered into the divine kingdom, it would become part of it. It would not live forever. As time passed, and the divine kingdom disappeared, it would need to agglomerate its soul in order to stay in the divine kingdom. When the awareness had a complete structure and power, it could even remember who he was, as well as memories from his previous life.

Every disciple was important to Lu Zhiyu. They not only could strengthen and expand the divine kingdom, they could also help to manage it and assist Lu Zhiyu.

Lu Zhiyu was extremely pleased with the establishment of the divine kingdom. His goal had been achieved. It would play an important role in increasing his influence, and specifically, it would hasten his power. When the divine system became more complete, and the number of priests with the divine seeds increased, his objective would be met more quickly.

The moon rose and set in the bitwall. After Lu Zhiyu had finished his job, it was past midnight. The moon in Maria's Word ran on its track, and set down into the earth. There were two main stars, the sun and moon. They were circling around Maria's World in the bitwall. The rest of the stars ran on their own tracks in the bitwall.

Lu Zhiyu opened the dimensional door and disappeared from the bitwall. Many people, who were looking at the moon, felt that some changes had taken place. They now noticed that the moon looked dimly lit.

————-

In the northern part of Allen Continent, lived the orcs. From the plains of Red River toward the north, one could hardly find any trails of man. After 1,000 years of development, the orcs had changed tremendously. From a tribe, they had evolved into a civilized world, and had reached the era of feudalism.

As compared to mankind, they developed at a remarkable speed. They knew about civilization much earlier than man. When they became a state, man was still ignorant about civilization. However, the situation had changed completely.

As compared to man, the orcs were a large population with many races. There was no sense of identity and belonging among the orcs. Even after a thousand years, most of them were still living in tribes.

Man's civilization and culture had been progressing, but the orcs were still fighting and killing one another in the northern region.

Ever since the orcs ended the city-state era ruled by the king and entered into feudalism, they went through the Sophoc Empire, the Charo Empire, and the Saelvig Empire. However, these empires took over only part of the land of the orcs. They had not united the orcs. Hence, most of the areas were still backwards and primitive.

More than 10 years ago, after the fall of the Saelvig Empire, there was chaos and division among the orcs. As man continued to develop, they had occupied 75 percent of the Allen Continent, whereas the orcs continued to live in the cold northern part.

A few hundred years ago, the orcs could still fight and contend with the human race. However, should there be a fight now, man would definitely win, as the orcs had never even stepped past the plains of Red River.

If the northern part of Allen Continent had not been desolate and cold, and there was no civil war in the human race, the orcs would not be able to lead a peaceful life. Moreover, there had been recent fights among the Light Clan and the monarchs.

With the continuous wars, massacres, merging of the tribes, and the establishment of cities, the orcs had started to live in harmony with the different races. They gave birth to mixed-blood, half-orcs, and it was difficult to tell which race they belonged to.

With the war that had stretched out to last a thousand years, coupled with struggles among the tribes, fights among the states and massacres among the races, the orcs that had fallen apart started to unite themselves together, and to make peace with one another. No one had expected the orcs, who were going downhill, to move toward a great change. They had the desire to change, and it required only a little spark to set the fire going.

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Chapter 111: Kingdom of Orcs

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Lu Zhiyu stood before the ruins. Stones, collapsed walls, and pillars were scattered around. The past glory was gone. All that was left behind were ruins.

One thousand years ago, this place used to be the royal city of the orcs, Saga City. It used to be bustling with activities, and was the thriving cultural center. The bronze civilization, the iron age era, started in Saga City. It was the center of trading, and the ancestors of the orcs had left their traces behind. They had led the orcs out of the primitive era, leaving a legend behind them. They had become heroes of their own mythical epic.

The orc kings had died by now, bringing along with them the city and its glory. The city that had been built over the span of 200 years, had now been reduced to ruins. One could only read about the magnificent city in books, or hear from the orcs about its majesty. One thousand years was a long time to an ordinary person. In fact, it was like infinity.

Lu Zhiyu walked past the ruins of Saga City. It was late winter and extremely cold in the northern region. Even the air that had been breathed out turned into frost.

Saga City was within the borders of the Kingdom of Menkaure. It was part of the Saelvig Empire, built by the Grand Duke, Menkaure. It belonged to the territory of the leopard-people. There were many races who looked up to the leopard-people in the Kingdom. This region had become the accommodation quarters of the cat-people and the dog-people. Hence, many of their tribes were nearby.

Ayers Mountain was also not far from here. The largest city was at the foot of Ayers Mountain. It borrowed its name from Ayers Mountain, and was known as Ayer City. This province was directly under the rule of the royals of the Kingdom of Menkaure. They had sent a consul to oversee the city. As compared to the Kingdom of Orcs, this place was different. It was quiet and peaceful.

Lu Zhiyu put on a black cloak and carried a big piece of luggage with him. He followed a group of merchants to Ayer City. As they were approaching the main street, and were at a T-junction, he alighted from the carriage and left the merchants.

The merchants had set forth from the human world, the Crete Empire to be exact, and had gone over the plains of Red River. They would be passing through the valleys of Ayers Mountain, then traveling to the trading center of the Kingdom of Menkaure.

They had obtained their permits from the royals of the Kingdom of Menkaure. These were, in fact, the noble merchants of the Crete Empire, and could, therefore, move around freely in the Kingdom of Menkaure.

Every year, they would send large amounts of tributes and goods from the Crete Empire to the royals of Menkaure. They were well received by the Kingdom of Orcs. In fact, the pottery, paper, herbs, tea leaves, sweets and other artworks were the best selling items in the Kingdom of Orcs.

The gemstones, jewelries, gold and spices of the orcs were hard currencies in the Crete Empire. Thus, one trip alone could bring much wealth to the merchants. These merchants not only did their normal trading while visiting, but they also brought in goods strictly prohibited by the Crete Empire.

These contraband goods included armaments, armor, weapons, crossbows, books, horses, camels and beasts. Due to their nature, these transactions had been carried out privately, and the stakes were high. The nobles and merchants would stop at nothing, as long as it was profitable.

Lu Zhiyu joined the merchants as a doctor. He hitched a ride from them and set forth to Ayer City. He had been staying in the dimensional castle and Wizard Tower all year round. Although he had been observing the developments in the human world and the orcs from the outside world, it was different from being there to actually find out things for himself.

In fact, Lu Zhiyu felt bored, so he had decided to get out and have a closer look. He would find a spot in the city to settle down for a period of time. In any case, he could carry out his experiment anywhere, and at the same time, be able to better understand the situation of the orcs.

The weather was cold. The stationed guards in Ayer City were hiding behind the door due to the frigid wind. They shivered and stomped about as the wind blew onto their faces. There was not much traffic at the city gate. The people queued up as the soldiers impatiently checked on them.

Lu Zhiyu got in line behind the people, carrying his luggage. Many of them standing in the queue were the cat-people and dog-people. They had their iconic ethnicity literally on them. They either had fine furs on their faces or possessed noses that looked vastly different from man.

The dressing style of the orcs was also quite different from man. Their attire's tops and bottoms were joined together, like a dress. Even the male's among them put on such clothing, to enable theirs tails to move more conveniently.

"Hey, remove your hood. What are you hiding inside?"

The soldier who was guarding the city gate cupped his hands together. The sword that was hanging on his waist had turned rusty, and it looked as though it had not been polished or used for a long time. This was the sign of a peaceful city.

Lu Zhiyu removed his hood, and the people around him shouted, "It is a human! Are humans coming here again?"

"Is he a merchant? Sir, merchants usually come in a group. He is alone, and only has one piece of luggage with him."

"Oh, he is so good looking!"

Many of those who were present had only heard of humans, but they had never actually seen one. They did not know what a human looked like. The children secretly watched Lu Zhiyu, as their parents carried them in their bosoms. The soldier suddenly became alert, and two other soldiers, who were standing beside the fireplace, walked over.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" they questioned Lu Zhiyu.

Lu Zhiyu put down his luggage and spoke fluently in the Sophoc language, "Hello, I am a doctor. I am bringing the art of healing from the human world, to promote it to the people here. I hope that those who are suffering from diseases can be treated."

The eyes of all the people brightened up after hearing this. Ever since Bohr Kelermo had written the Kelermo Medical Coding, many from Gracchus Duchy had become doctors.

Many countries valued the clinics and the nurturing of doctors. Although the Light Clan discriminated against the doctors, many having tried to oppose and suppress them, they had to eventually let them go about freely upon the orders of the higher authority.

There were many rumors about the doctors in the Kingdom of Orcs. In the tribal areas, medical science was lagging behind. When one fell sick, they either resigned to their fate, or waited to be healed during their tribunal rites. Those who performed the rites were usually doctors as well. They treasured Kelermo's Medical Code, regarding it as being the holy code.

Even in the Kingdom of Orcs, the doctors had been rumored to be able to resurrect the dead, including those who had died of plagues. All of them hoped that they would have doctors in their tribes or cities to bring healing and light to them.

The number of deaths from accidents and diseases had been extremely high recently. Many did not live to full age. Thus, their desire and hunger for a doctor was beyond the imagination of ordinary persons. After Lu Zhiyu had mentioned his profession, the eyes of all the people lit up.

The soldier was stunned as well. After a long while, he rubbed his palms together and said, "You, are you really a doctor?"

Lu Zhiyu smiled, nodded his head, and said, "Yes. I hope to be able to stay in Ayer City to promote medical science and healing. At the same time, I will nurture a few trainee doctors."

Everyone shouted out with joy. The soldiers immediately showed due respect to Lu Zhiyu, inviting him into the city. Very soon, Lu Zhiyu received an invitation from the governor, who was the official consul sent by the king.

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Chapter 112: The Temporary Stay in Ayer City

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The name of the governor of Ayer City was Elias. He was a member of the leopard-people race. He had leopard spots on his skin, and his eyes looked fierce. His strong body made him look dynamic, and he robed himself in royal apparel. He was refined and courteous, yet he gave off an aura revealing that he was ready for action.

Lu Zhiyu saw that Elias was half-man, as he had awakened his blood. Pure orcs would not be able to awaken their blood. They could only do this if they were mixed-blood. The orcs had tried to suppress this aspect, and had said that the blood of the orcs came from the gods.

Elias had been confirmed as a knight, and was sent by the Imperial City to Ayer City. He did not have his own domain, and was thus considered a noble official, sent by the royals. His mannerisms were different from the orcs. He was graceful and knowledgeable. His accent in the Sofawk language was close to the ancient tones, but he still managed to communicate well with Lu Zhiyu.

Ayer City was a small city located in Ayers Mountain. It was neither a town near the border, nor a prosperous place. Elias did not receive much attention from the top ranking officials. He would have had to show some results, if he wished to be promoted to baron status. This fact had made Elias extremely concerned with the developments of the city.

The arrival of Lu Zhiyu was an opportunity for Ayer City. If Elias could keep him in the city, and set up a clinic to promote healing, it could help with the developments of the city. If those in the human world knew that a man was in Ayer City, they would then come to the city to trade. This was the reason that Elias held Lu Zhiyu in such high regard. If Lu Zhiyu was just an ordinary doctor, Elias would not have been interested in him.

After a good conversation at the governor's mansion, Elias gave Lu Zhiyu many promises. "Don't worry, Mr. Randhir, we will help you to set up a clinic. For the trainee doctors, we will provide them with subsidies, bearing all of their expenses."

Lu Zhiyu nodded his head happily and said, "Thank you. I will also fulfill my promise of introducing merchants to you."

Lu Zhiyu left the manor and saw that the snow was getting heavier. He put on his hood, and gazed up at the grand and magnificent Ayers Mountain. In comparison to it, Ayer City looked run down.

There were more than 10,000 people in Ayer City. There was no iconic structure to be found there, and most of the people were not rich. They lived a self-sufficient life, tapping into the resources from Ayers Mountain and a small market in the city.

However, Lu Zhiyu liked the tranquility there. All the people were simple-minded, and stood aloof from the world.

There were more cat-people and dog-people among the orcs. They had the most tribes, but they were the least powerful among the orcs. In this era, there were less than 100 wizards and priests in total. The Blood Knights were the most powerful among the countries.

It was similar to the Kingdom of Orcs. The cat race and dog race were scattered, not united. They did not have their own blood knights or methods to train up their knights. Hence, they could only be subordinate to the other races.

The Kingdom of Menkaure had built their kingdom with the help of Hurricane Knights, formed by the leopard-people. They had become one of the great powers in the Kingdom of Orcs after the Saelvig Empire had fallen apart.

The city was not big. As such, it took Lu Zhiyu only a short while to cover all of the streets of Ayer City. Pedestrians were walking on the uneven muddy roads. There were only a few shops in the west section of the commercial street, only some of which were open.

Under the recommendation of one of the people, Lu Zhiyu purchased a two-story building in the west section. It was quite a magnificent building, which had a small courtyard attached to it. It used to be owned by a merchant in the city. After he had become wealthy, he went to the big city in Mobis Province, and had never returned.

After paying for the building, Lu Zhiyu opened the door of its entrance. It was well furnished and clean. However, some of the things were old and decayed. For instance, the cabinet seemed to be infected by termites.

Lu Zhiyu summoned the ant-people from the dimensional castle and, with their help, transformed the building. The second level was totally transformed, with new carpets, chairs, and a table. When Lu Zhiyu lit the fireplace, the room immediately became warm.

He laid on the arm-chair that was beside the fireplace. He felt good there, as compared to the cold dimensional castle. At the least, he could hear the comforting noise of the children playing outside the building. In the dimensional castle, he could only hear his own voice. Other than carrying out their duties, the ant-people would not initiate any conversation.

That's it. I will stay here for a while to observe the orcs. They seem to be doing badly recently!

Lu Zhiyu covered himself with a blanket and started to think. He had to decide what to do next.

I have not created the evolved plasma that I have promised Nicholas Debye. This will be easy, as I will be providing for just one person. However, in the later stages, when they process it in their biology laboratory in order to roll it out, there will be problems. The chance of rejection in the evolved plasma is extremely high now. I must try to improve it. The effectiveness and functions have to be reduced as well.

Not to mention, there is still the construction of Byrne Island and starship to consider. This is a big project. I have no idea where to begin. I need more knowledge, tons of experience, and ideas.

Also not to forget, I still need to improve the divine system. It is simple and inferior. I have no idea how to improve on that either.

Lu Zhiyu felt that he had tons of things to do, some of which were more urgent than others. He would not be able to rest for a while. He would have to stay in Ayer City for a long period of time in order to complete the more urgent projects, especially.

In the next few days, Lu Zhiyu had selected the location of his clinic. It was not far from his house. There were three levels, and the location was good.

The shops in this region did not require such a big area and, as the rental was a bit steep in price, it had been left vacant. After renting it, Lu Zhiyu started to renovate.

He had turned the ground floor into a medical hall. He would sell some strong hemostatic powder, mild hemostatic powder, and some general medicine for common diseases there.

The clinic would be on the second level. There would be an outpatient department, a consulting room, and a simple operation theatre. The wards and lounge would be on the third level. It was pretty good for such a small clinic to be able to provide these services. Lu Zhiyu intended to recruit a few trainee doctors, and then hand the clinic over to them to manage in the later stages.

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Chapter 113: Winter Night

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After locking the doors of the renovated clinic, Lu Zhiyu was preparing for opening the next day, as well as for the recruitment of assistants and clerks for the pharmacy. After he took care of those details, he would then find apprentice medics.

On the way home, the skies were already dark and a heavy snow was falling. It was already late winter now. As the snowflakes danced in the air, they covered the earth in a flurry of pure white.

As he passed the stores, many shopkeepers greeted Lu Zhiyu. They had gotten close over the last few days, and Lu Zhiyu was happy to feel that he had already begun to integrate into the community.

Lu Zhiyu wore a navy blue leather trenchcoat, which seemed quite exotic to the locals of Ayer City. After awhile, many people began to recognize his distinctive presence.

Passing through the orc family residential area, all the houses were alight with laughter and activity. The lights emanating from these houses created the most beautiful skyline in contrast with the night.

As Lu Zhiyu arrived home and opened the door to his house, he suddenly heard a noise outside. He traced the noise to a nearby alley, where he discovered a collapsed figure on the ground. The figure lay dead in a pool of blood, but it was holding an infant!

With a deep sadness, Lu Zhiyu frowned, turned around, and returned home. He waved his hand, causing the lights and fireplace to immediately light up. Light and warmth filled the entire living room, banishing the chill of the outer world.

Lu Zhiyu sat for awhile and drank a cup of coffee. He looked out of the window again. At last, he stood up and walked out of the yard, back into the dark, bloody alley. The dead body was now covered by a thick layer of frost, and the tracks of blood were freezing into a layer of crimson ice.

The dead body was a faun, a goat-person orc. It was tall and strong, but both of the horns were broken. Also, its body was covered with seven or eight gaping wounds, of which included some arrow wounds and sword wounds. He had clearly died after withstanding all of these heavy injuries, revealing that he must have been a true man.

Lu Zhiyu looked at the bundle on his chest and opened it, only to discover that it was an infant with golden locks and beast ears! It was extremely cute, and its cheeks were flushed red from the chill.

"A fever?"

Lu Zhiyu took the swaddled baby and rubbed it in a soothing motion. Meanwhile, he cast a healing spell upon the infant. Instantly, the redness of the skin disappeared, and the baby's cries eased. A pair of large eyes oogled at Lu Zhiyu, as it gurgled for a bit, before falling into a delighted fit of laughter.

The corners of Lu Zhiyu's mouth crinkled as he looked at the little one. "You really are cute, you little trouble maker."

Then, around ten shadows darted down the street. Two figures suddenly entered the alley and looked at Lu Zhiyu. The two of them stopped and joined the other ten shadows, swiftly relaying information as they darted between the alley and the rooftops. From the front, back, and both sides, Lu Zhiyu was surrounded.

Each of these figures was dressed in loose black cloaks. Underneath the cloaks, they were in leather armor with longswords. Although a hood covered their faces, it was still possible to discern that they belonged to the wolf orc tribe.

A wolf-man with a scarred face walked forward, looking at Lu Zhiyu. He spoke in brusque Sofawk. "A human? Why is a human here?"

A flash of confusion darted over his face, as the wolf-man hardened his eyes and stated harshly, "Kill him and take the child. "

All of the people started moving and drawing their swords. Figures descended from above from multiple angles, locking on all of Lu Zhiyu's escape routes. The technique and cooperation of this team were at the pinnacle of training. This was definitely not a normal troop of soldiers.

Wheew!

Lu Zhiyu lifted his head to look the wolf-man in the eye. The wolf-man immediately tingled, sensing danger and his own impending danger. It was extremely ominous! As he opened his mouth to say something, he heard a wave of light ring out from Lu Zhiyu's body, covering all of Ayer's City in an instant.

In a single second, more than half of Ayer's City was frozen, as all time had stopped. Even the snowfall from the skies was suspended in mid-air. Wherever the halo of light touched, all of the people halted immediately. Even their consciousnesses were frozen.

All of the assassins attacking Lu Zhiyu were frozen in midair. Their longswords were only a few centimeters from Lu Zhiyu, with the closest ones being only millimeters away. Yet, they were completely frozen.

The easy laughter of the other wolf-men was also frozen now, and the surprise on the scar-faced wolf-man was only just beginning to show, as he discovered his consciousness drifting from his body, completely out of his control.

Within Ayers City, the families were stopped also in an instant, all while enjoying their dinners, sitting together, smiling. The shopkeepers, who had been closing up, had their hands on the doors. Several guards' glasses were seen in the bars, raised in a toast. The servants stopped in the halls of the city manor, and Mayor Elias's goose quill was still raised, dots of the ink swirled in the air.

Within the radius of several miles, everything was synchronized and dominated by the dream space that was being controlled by Lu Zhiyu. Not even the smallest fly could escape Lu Zhiyu's notice and control.

"One, two, three, four… twelve!"

After every number that Lu Zhiyu recited, a figure would be set ablaze by a white light. The process would go from the bottom to the top, like glass shattering under high pressure. The figure would then instantly become glittering powder. By the time he had counted to twelve, each scar faced figure would have been wiped out, without leaving a single trace.

"Only twelve."

Lu Zhiyu checked and discovered that the group had no reinforcements within Ayers City, so he retracted his dream space. The glow shrinked back within Lu Zhiyu's body. As it did so, the snow continued drifting to the ground, and the people resumed their activities. Busy, bustling, and happy, the city returned to its normal state.

Lu Zhiyu lifted up the infant. As she was held up, she began laughing continuously, as if she was delighted to see Lu Zhiyu. She appeared to be oblivious to the dangers from before. In fact, she seemed to have completely forgotten about the person who had protected her until his death.

"Look at you, still laughing. What a troublemaker."

The infant had no idea what Lu Zhiyu was saying, but she felt that being raised in the air was extremely entertaining, so she kept giggling loudly. Though he didn't know why, Lu Zhiyu began laughing with her.

As he laughed, he held the baby close to his chest. After checking the body of the corpse once more, he discovered a badge and a longsword, but nothing else that was worthy of note.

There was an insignia of the lion that was branded on both the longsword and the badge. Lu Zhiyu saw them and immediately recalled the origin of the mark. He stood and used Disintegration to wipe away the trace of the body, then carried the child home.

There was now another person in Lu Zhiyu's house. It added a welcome touch of life. Though it was only a child, it gave the house a sense of normalcy and warmth.

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"Daddy! Daddy! What are you looking at?"

"Daddy, Daddy! It's raining outside!"

"Daddy! I'm hungry."

The voice of a child echoed throughout Lu Zhiyu's house.

Tatata!

Rapid footsteps were heard, as the child ran up and down the stairs without the slightest break. The child had short, blond hair, which was quite messy and shorn to the ears. Because the child was so young, it was impossible to discern its gender with just a quick glance. If judging by the hairstyle alone, one would assume that the child had fairly delicate and feminine-like features.

The footsteps pattered to the study. After coming inside the room, the child jumped at Lu Zhiyu's legs. Lu Zhiyu was sprawled over his desk, looking over complicated diagrams that were filled with maps and strange symbols.

Currently, within the entire Alen continent, the counting system went by a base of twenty. The three symbols used represented the numbers 0, 1, and 5, which could then be combined to form other larger numbers.

Only wizards knew the Arabic numeral counting system that utilized a counting system with a base of ten, which is the one that Lu Zhiyu also used. This was still unknown knowledge to the majority of those within Maria's World, so no one would recognize Lu Zhiyu's numbers, let alone his writings.

Lu Zhiyu put down the charcoal pencil in his hand and looked at the little child, Verthandi, who was now clinging to his leg like a baby sloth. She was wearing pants with white deerskin boots. Her top stretched all the way down to her knees, like a dress, and her tiny bum darted in and out of sight, hidden by the flare of the shirt.

Lu Zhiyu lifted his leg into the air as she dangled from his leg, hugging it tightly as she giggled, swinging her legs back and forth.

"What is it, you little troublemaker? Didn't I tell you not to bother me when I'm working?"

Verthandi pouted. "But I'm hungry."

Lu Zhiyu picked up a plate of snacks from the desk and brought it to Verthandi, who he had taken to his chest. Verthandi was three years old.

When Lu Zhiyu was choosing her name, he had taken inspiration from the Three Norns of Fate. Verthandi was the Goddess that ruled over the Present. Lu Zhiyu figured this was the best choice, because the past is gone and unobtainable, and the future is forever changing. Hence, only by controlling the present, can one control their own fate.

Likewise, Lu Zhiyu also hoped that Verthandi would seize her own present, and treasure all of the time and experiences that she has. Over the last two years, many people came to the Mobis Province seeking information.

Apparently, some men were sent from the Engido Kingdom, which was near the Ayers Mountains. Lu Zhiyu rarely let Verthandi go out. And when the two were in public, he "officially" had a son named Will, not a daughter called Verthandi. With the help of this ruse, no one suspected that Verthandi was partially mixed blood.

"Your Auntie Cassan will be here soon. She'll make yummy food for you. I'll teach you something right now. If you learn it, then I'll give you these two pieces of cake."

Lu Zhiyu held Verthandi as he picked up a copy of the Epic of Totle from a bookshelf. It was a selection by Totle, detailing the most complete history of the human race. The text also held all of the most widespread odes and poems, complete with countless wandering bards who were singing about ancient heroes, thus passing their fame onto future generations.

"Verse one is the verse about the Golden King Ahenaten. It is the legend about the human, Golden King Ahenaten, receiving a divine prophecy…"

Lu Zhiyu, who had been reading aloud to this point, now stopped, surprised. In his lap, Verthandi pretended to pay attention, but her eyes were glued to the snack tray on the desk.

Her hands crept towards the tray, but Lu Zhiyu smacked them away lightly. Verthandi pouted, but stayed sitting on Lu Zhiyu's lap, listening to him read a few of the first verses until she happily got the cake as a reward!

Right then, the door downstairs opened. Verthandi instantly perked up. "Auntie Cassan's here."

Lu Zhiyu also stood up and put on a large coat, locking up the study before heading downstairs. There, a dog-woman orc stood by the entrance with a basket. She hugged Verthandi and kissed her cheek.

"Little Trouble, did you see the goodies I brought you?"

"My name isn't Little Trouble, hmph! And, I just ate something yummy!"

Lu Zhiyu headed down the steps and spoke to the maid Cassan. "Cassan, please take care of Little Trouble. I am heading to the clinic. There are a few special patient consultations today. I'm afraid Tler and Paisy don't have enough experience to handle them alone. Take care of the house, please."

Cassan looked at Lu Zhiyu respectfully. "Don't worry, I will take care of Little Trouble and the house. When will you be back?"

Lu Zhiyu nodded. "I'll be back tonight. Don't wait for me for lunch. You two can go ahead and eat first."

Outside, the people on the road hurried along in the drizzling rain. Lu Zhiyu headed to the clinic.

In the bottom level of the clinic, two apprentice medics staffed the pharmacy. Quite a number of people were already there, lined up by the staircase. Some of the merchants from nearby stores chatted under the roof, while some patients with ordinary injuries and simple colds waited inside the pharmacy. Only patients with severe or unknown ailments would be treated upstairs.

"Hi Mr. Randhir. We didn't know you'd be dropping by!" The owner of the bar greeted Lu Zhiyu. It was still morning, meaning the bar hadn't opened yet, so he was completely free to shoot the breeze and socialize.

In the last few years, Ayer City had undergone a dramatic transformation. Lu Zhiyu had introduced a few human merchant teams to stimulate the economic development of the city. The specialties of the Ayers Mountains, medical supplies, pelts and the tonics from Lu Zhiyu's pharmacy, all made for wildly popular merchandise.

The original clinic was also becoming a bit crowded. Many patients and merchants came from all over to buy the tinctures and tonics from the Randhir Clinic, due to its great reputation. All of the apprentices were busy enough to pass out at the end of every day, exhausted. So, the plan was to buy another storefront nearby in order to expand the clinic.

The once empty Western Shopping District had also become extremely popular, now boasting not one single empty storefront! It had even been expanded by the addition of an entire street!

Many ordinary orcs had also moved to Ayers City. In fact, the development of the entire city was improving by leaps and bounds, which brought good reviews for the prefectural capital of Elias. As the person who changed Elias and had saved countless patients, Lu Zhiyu was naturally one of the most popular people in all of Ayers City.

"Have you heard yet?" murmured a few those gathered around.

Lu Zhiyu saw a few people whispering secretively and asked them. "I saw that you all are discussing something. What has happened?"

The owner of the bar replied with care. "There might be a war!"

Lu Zhiyu stopped abruptly in his tracks. "Why?!"

A young person chimed in. "There is domestic unrest in the Crete Empire. The Church of Light of the humans has sent out its strongest fighters from the Knights of Light to investigate something. Apparently, many human nobles from the Crete Empire are heading here. The Church of Light and the Crete Imperial Army are moving by the Red River Plains. I just came back from there, and someone had encountered a scout from the Church of Light."

Lu Zhiyu pushed for further information. "You are absolutely certain of this? What if it was a knight serving under an ordinary Crete Empire noble?"

The young person replied, "Of course not. They were in snowy white armor, and they had swords forged from humanity's most expensive Ur steel. Those, along with the sigils of the sun were dead giveaways."

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Chapter 115: Theft of the Sword of the King

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Within St. Sarl City, at the Temple of Light, the hall had a display showcasing the Sword of the King. This was called the Divine Hall, and it was created expressly for displaying the sword granted by the Divine. On both sides of the hall were paintings with the imagery of Heaven. In the front, was a painting depicting God himself. Specifically, it showed the image of Him granting the first king of humanity, Ahenaten, the legendary sword.

Originally, the Sword of the King that was depicted within the mural on the wall was only used by the Church for large scale ceremonies and the coronation ceremonies of leaders. Only then would the sword be taken out. By possessing the sword, the Pope had a symbol representing the legitimacy of the Church of Light.

Understandably, the protection on the Divine Hall was extremely tight. Every day there would be specialized clergy chosen to guard and polish the sword, checking it to make sure that it was in pristine condition.

The identity of each security person was set, and throughout the year, only these individuals were allowed to interact with the blade. No other personnel were allowed to approach the sword. Even these chosen clergy members had to go through rigorous checks every time they entered.

At this time, Pope Hodap stood at the center of the Divine Hall, just below the feet of Lord Faross. His face was so dark, it seemed to drip water. He had no courage to face God directly, apparently. All of the guardian knights and clerical members were kneeling on the ground, not daring to utter a single word.

All of them knew that Pope Hodap was already completely enraged. A lot of relevant personnel were trembling, with cold sweat dripping down their foreheads.

The Sword of the King that Hodap held looked identical to the real one. However, it had recently been proven that the handle was fake. The real Sword of the King had already been switched, having been taken for several days before anyone even discovered that something was amiss. The reason for this was that it had been an actual clergy member that had swapped the sword, then promptly disappeared!

Hodap gripped the duplicate Sword of the King tightly. He squeezed it with his fingers, causing a white light to shoot forth from his palm. The sword shattered into pieces.

Hodap then turned around to say, "All of the members who failed their jobs must be dragged out and interrogated. Don't dirty the floor of the Divine Hall."

Immediately, dozens of Executioners from the Judges of Light appeared. They then dragged all of the trembling guards and attendants of the Divine Hall away.

Everyone knew that those who were dragged away by the Executioners would never be seen again. Even if they had not betrayed the Church of Light, they would have to take responsibility for allowing the theft of the Sword of the King.

Archbishop Arthur opened his mouth. Although it was the best opportunity to attack Hodap, to lose the Sword of the King was a serious offense. It was one of Pope Hodap's main responsibilities to protect the Sword of Light, which was a symbol that displayed his God-given authority to rule. It was impossible to sum up the significance of the Sword with only a word or two, as its standing in the Church was only second to the Saintess and the Mask of Faross.

If Hodap was attacked at this time, with the support of the College of Cardinals, or even the Saintess herself, it would be possible to dethrone him from his position as Pope. To the other members of the College of Cardinals, this was an important opportunity.

Yet, for now, it was essential to reclaim the Sword of the King. No matter who took the spot of the Pope, the Sword of the King could not be lost. All of the members of the Church of the King knew the extreme importance of this vital fact.

Archbishop Arthur hesitated, then completely gave up trying to reprimand Hodap. They could find the Sword of the King first. "The Judges of Light have already been notified, and they are investigating the matter. Sean will most likely report back soon."

Sean, the Chief Justice of the Judges of Light, stepped inside. He was clothed in a severe black priest robe that had an insignia of the Judges of Light on it. That insignia was a symbol out that was synonymous with terror and nightmares of the people of the Kingdom of the Church of Light, as well as every surrounding nation. Sean's grave countenance carried the same sinister quality as an eagle out for a hunt.

Hodap saw Sean and immediately questioned him anxiously. "How is it? Is there any news?"

Sean approached Hodap. "Your Holiness, according to the investigation, Peter Rodman, the thief of the sword, has headed towards the Tuten Dynasty. But, according to sources, the day before yesterday, which was the day he swapped the sword, he had a secret meeting with several individuals. We think these people may have been from the Crete Empire. Therefore, the Sword of the King may have already fallen into their possession."

Sean continued his report. "The escape of Peter Rodman to the Tuten Dynasty is a diversion, bait. According to my estimates, this affair may be an action of the Gathering of Darkness, another scheme targeting the Church of Light."

Hodap erupted into another bout of rage. "Those dirty rats! Heretics, hiding in the alleys! How dare they target the Sword of the King? And, what shames me the most, is that they actually succeeded and attacked the inner circle of our Church, the core of the Temple of Light! Does this mean that even the interior of the Temple has fallen under their control?!"

Mad with rage, Hodap scanned the people in front of him. All of them lowered their heads, including the highest ranked clergy. "Everyone must be searched! I want to weed out all of their pawns within our ranks. The rats of the Gathering of Darkness must be eradicated!"

Sean nodded. This loss of the Sword of the King would lead to a dramatic hit upon the name of the Church, especially if the public were to get wind of the affair. All of the coronation ceremonies of kings needed the Sword of the King. If the Church of Light tried to conduct a coronation ceremony without the Sword of the King, they would definitely be rebuffed and mocked by the kings and nobles.

Sean spoke. "According to my investigations, their original targets were the Mask of Faross and the Saintess. However, due to errors, they abandoned that plan. Our internal affair intel is definitely full of loopholes. Yet, we do believe that the Sword of the King has a great chance of being in the Crete Empire. I will go personally to investigate this matter, but I will need the assistance of His Excellency, Elliot VIII."

Hodap looked at Sean, his gaze changing into one of panic. It took some time for him to regain his calm.

Once calmed, he said, "Good, good. These guys are completely audacious. What is even more hateful are the traitors in our midst. I will ask for the Saintess herself to step out of her shrine and personally search. Sean, due to the importance of the task at hand, I do need you do go personally. Go to the Crete Empire, which has a core that has already escaped our grasp. During your visit, investigate both the disappearance of the Sword and the activities of the rebel schemers. They must all be found and annihilated."

Hodap thought that wasn't quite enough, so he then added, "I will also command Charles to bring the Knights of Light to assist you. Remember, you must bring back the Sword of the King and not let a trace of this information escape."

Sean frowned. "That may be difficult. The nobles and the kings of the surrounding nations may have already received this information. If so, they will quickly spread the information of the theft."

Hodap scrambled to speak. "And we will deny it! So, do you understand the importance of your mission?"

Sean gave a heavy nod. "Rest easy, Your Holiness. I will definitely bring the Sword of the King back and return it to the glory of God."

All of the Knights of Light that were stationed near the Crete Empire were deployed. After the incident of the Wizard Alliance, the Church had canceled the independent stationing of the Knight of Lights squads and redistributed them into three armies to deploy in rotation. Yet, the emblematic legendary status of the Knights of Light remained unchanged, as being something that none of the other armies could compare to. It was still the most elite corp of the Church of Light.

At the same time, in various countries, the rumor of the theft of the Sword of the King was being spread throughout every street and alley. Many people started debating in murmured whispers.

The Sword of the Light was seen symbolizing the God given right to rule, as well as it being seen as the guarantee of the authenticity of the Church. The impact of losing this divine artifact was clearly no small matter.

But, since this most chalked this up to being nothing but a rumor, the believers of the murmuring were few. Yet, as the amount of rumors increased, many more people began to adopt a stance of skepticism. Then, after a push was given by malevolent actors from the shadows, it seemed as if everyone knew about the theft of the Sword of Light.

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"Gathering of Darkness! It's the Gathering of Darkness again!"

Elliot VIII had just sent away Chief Justice Sean from the Judges of LIght, before exploding within the main hall in fury. Apparently, the organization that was previously called the Gathering of Nobles had now renamed itself the Gathering of Darkness.

No matter how many times Elliot VIII had attempted to wipe them out, he was unable to completely extinguish them! These disgusting rats would always get wind of his actions and escape every time!

Just like that, they had grown and regrouped, right under the watch of Elliot VIII! What's worse, they had struck at the core of the Church of Light, as even the clergy members of the Church of Light were bought by them.

This betrayal had caused Elliot to now look at all of the people around him with suspicion. He was understandably terrified. After all, these bastards didn't only want to overthrow the Church of Light, but they also wanted to take his throne!

As Elliot VIII grew more agitated, his coughing worsened, wracking his entire body with shudders. The severe coughing fit made it seem as if he could keel over and die at any moment. Earl Yi Wensi immediately headed over to support him, gesturing for an aide to come over as well.

The aide approached with an ivory cup that was filled with water, while making eye contact with Yi Wensi. With a tacit understanding, he helped Elliot VIII drink the water and take a pill. Elliot VIII's symptoms were immediately alleviated.

Elliot VIII calmed his breathing and sat up, saying, "I heard that the court physician is an apprentice of the legendary Bohr Kelermo. As expected from a direct apprentice of Mr. Kelermo, if he wasn't this skilled, I probably would have died a long time ago."

It was already Year 21 of the San Calendar, and Elliot VIII was just past the age of forty. Although this was not so very old, his previous ailments could not be cured, so he had aged far beyond his years. Even with the expertise of the pastors from the Church and the apprentice of Kelermo, it was impossible to find cures. Hence, he could only maintain his current state.

Yi Wensi spoke. "This time, with the arrival of Chief Justice Sean, the Knights of Light have already entered our borders. If we add the numbers of Cardinal Leon's garrison, there are over forty thousand well-trained soldiers here from the Church. Should we really grant them such freedom? Though they are here to investigate the Gathering of Darkness, who knows what else they may be planning."

Elliot VIII's face darkened. His relationship with the Church of Light had always been quite complicated. On one hand, he had secured his position as the Emperor of Crete through the support and the authority of the Church. On the other hand, as the head of the Crete Empire, he could not let the Church interfere with domestic affairs and eclipse his own power.

However, this time the Church had stepped way out of line in sending the Chief Justice of the Judges of Light here. The elite squad within the Knights of Light had marched into the borders of Crete without his authorization, completely disregarding his position as the Emperor. This was also one of the factors that fueled his earlier tantrum. He just didn't dare say it aloud.

Elliot VIII could still barely suppress his rage. "Ignore them, the Church has lost the Sword of the King. Pope Hodap is only panicking, as he is becoming reckless with worry over losing an artifact granted by God. Nothing can stop them."

After he spoke, Elliot VIII barked out a chilly laugh. "Now that they have lost the Sword of the King, let's see how they conduct the next Coronation ceremony. Yi Wensi, put all of your efforts into watching the movements of the Church. This time, three Saints will be gathered in our empire. We must be very careful!"

As Yi Wensi left the palace, he encountered a carriage and a man dressed like a driver at the entrance. Yi Wensi's face changed color, as he quickly boarded this new carriage, being informed that his original carriage had been driven to his estate already.

Yi Wensi hurried to the underground meeting room and saw that all the other three members within the Crete Empire were already assembled. Yi Wensi promptly took his seat.

"The Church of Light definitely will not give up until they find the Sword of the King. What's more, they have a fierce determination to annihilate us. This isn't the same as the scuffles we have had before."

"What we did this time was too risky. Why did we take the Sword? Did we take it simply because it is said to hold supernatural powers in the legends? Even stealing the Mask of Faross would have been better than taking the Sword of the King!"

"Exactly! Why were we not notified about such an important plan? I only found out about it just now. The Three Saints are here, including the most terrifying one, the Chief Justice of the Judges of Light. Even the elite squad from the Knights of Light have entered our borders. Everyone has been thrown into complete chaos!"

"Well, that's not true. The symbolic meaning of the Sword of the King is far superior to the Mask of Faross. It symbolizes the God given right to rule. Without it, the authority of the Church is deeply impacted. The next Coronation would definitely go wrong."

The man at the head of the table spoke. "It was my decision, I have already started the plan. We will definitely succeed this time!"

There was a sudden silence. The black hooded man across from Yi Wensi swallowed, obviously excited, then faced the speaker. "It has already started?"

Yi Wensi was also thrilled. "We have waited for over twenty years, and now we finally have our chance. Elliot VIII's health is already failing. I will order them to increase the dosage. He definitely will not last past this spring."

The man at the head of the table lifted his head, causing his hood to fall down and display features almost identical to those of Elliot VIII. He was the younger brother of Elliot VIII, Duke Vortigen!

The legendary founder and head of the Gathering of Darkness was actually the younger brother, who Elliot VIII trusted the most! Upon recognizing him, all of the people there lowered their hoods in respect, one by one.

Other than Yi Wensi, who served as the Prime Minister, all of the other men were Elliot VIII's most trusted ministers. Including Duke Vortigen, all those gathered represented the highest levels of authority within the Crete Empire.

Vortigen looked everyone at there, his eyes finally coming to rest upon Yi Wensi. "Yi Wensi, this time the Church of Light has moved the Three Saints and lost the Sword of the King. The Crete Empire must answer for this. We need an important figure to stand out and attract their attention, and to make a sacrifice for the Gathering. At the same time, this is a very important stage for us. In the future, we will truly take the stage into a new era, and the Gathering of Darkness will follow you name, Earl Yi Wensi, to its death."

All eyes were now focused upon Yi Wensi. He paled immediately with unease. It seems that his presence today was a mistake. Yi Wensi had never thought that he, as a person who treated everyone else as sacrificial pawns, would ever end up being the one in such dire straits!

"No, you, you're all joking, right?" Yi Wensi said, shaking. Yet the looks the others were giving him, as if they were gazing at livestock being prepped for slaughter, were chilling to the bone.

Yi Wensi broke into a cold sweat and tried to stand up, yet his entire body had lost its strength. Failing in his attempt, he fell to the ground. "No, you can't do this to me."

Yi Wensi tried to turn toward the tunnel behind him and escape. He had to leave and expose the plot to the Emperor! He had to show these bastards the consequences of betraying him!

Yi Wensi had just managed to get up, when a thin woman walked out of the tunnel behind him. Two weakly glowing eyes emerged from the darkness and locked onto Yi Wensi, causing him to immediately freeze up.

The thin woman grabbed his throat and lifted him up with one hand. Yi Wensi struggled with all his strength, but could not escape her grasp.

"Wizards! You actually sought out the wizards again, you.." Yi Wensi's shrill voice flattened out into a whine as he trembled in terror.

The woman extended a hand, and a black insect jumped from it and crawled into Yi Wensi's ear. Yi Wensi gave a horrified scream and convulsed, causing him to fall to the ground until his entire consciousness fell into darkness.

After a long time, Yi Wensi crawled up from the ground. His eyes were deadened with a hollow gaze. Vortigen clapped as he looked at the female wizard. "Please take care of the rest."

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Chapter 117: Conspiracy (2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the spring of San Calendar Year 21, due to the tightening of the noose that was set forth by the Church and the King of the Crete Empire, the mastermind behind the Gathering of Darkness was finally revealed. The Prime Minister of the Crete Empire, Earl Yi Wensi, was exposed under pressure from the Church.

Backed into a corner, Yi Wensi had started a revolution with the army. Their attacks left the palace washed with blood, as their rampage killed the two sons and daughter of Elliot VIII. Even with the protection of ten imperial guards, Elliot VIII still took an arrow, which eventually led to his death.

During this crisis, Elliot VIII's younger brother, Duke Vortigen, stormed into the palace with his personal corp, defeating the rebel army and killing Yi Wensi. Just before his death at the hands of Duke Vortigen, Yi Wensi screamed of his loyalty to Elliot VIII.

The capital of the Crete Empire, Virginia, descended into a state of extreme chaos. There were a large numbers of military movements, torches, and armored men constantly strategically moving in the nights.

Chief Justice Sean had gone to the palace with Duke Vortigen in order to rescue Elliot VIII. Immediately, he had attempted to heal Elliot VIII's injury with his entourage. However, although the injury had healed, Elliot VIII fell into a coma, due to excessive blood loss paired with his original ill health.

Duke Vortigen watched Elliot VIII on his deathbed. He was heartbroken and cursing the Gathering of Darkness that Yi Wensi had created. "I never thought that Yi Wensi could be the head of the Gathering of Darkness. We must execute the bastards of the Gathering of Darkness, as well as the accursed wizards."

Sean stood behind Vortigen, looking at the bloodless face of Elliot VIII with a expression of unease. He was an expert on intelligence gathering and punitive measures, yet he had no experience with politics. He was here to investigate the Gathering of Darkness and the theft of the Sword. Never had he expected this sort of a development to occur. It was wildly out of his area of expertise!

With the deaths of all of his children, the only royals left were Elliot VIII and Duke Vortigen. If anything happened to Elliot VIII, only Duke Vortigen would be able to step in.

Currently, the Church was completely unprepared for the succession of the Crete Emperor. In fact, Duke Vortigen wasn't even on the shortlist of the Church's candidates for the throne. So, for the time being, Sean simply could not yet allow the death of Elliot VIII!

Sean also felt that everything was a bit too coincidental. It was unnatural to him, as if it were a scripted scenario. As soon as Yi Wensi was investigated, he started a revolution and killed all of Elliot VIII's children. It appeared that Yi Wensi's madness stemmed from his loyalty to Elliot VIII and his desire for vengeance. But, again, it all still seemed very unnatural.

The way that Vortigen had killed Yi Wensi also seemed a little too deliberate and rushed. The large number of these coincidences, which were starting to really add up, smelled like a conspiracy to Sean.

Someone from the Judges of Light rushed in and whispered into Sean's ear. Sean's expression transformed dramatically. "What? Not a single person was there?"

After Yi Wensi's failed rebellion, Sean had immediately sent people to surround Earl Yi Wensi's estate in order to track down the whereabouts of the Sword of the King. Since Yi Wensi was the head of the Gathering of Darkness, he must have known the location of the Sword. He may have even kept the Sword for himself!

What Sean didn't expect was that, within the Yi Wensi estate, other than a few servants, all of his family had already escaped. Even their documents were all destroyed. The leftover servants were completely clueless as well, saying that their master had given them the day off.

Sean couldn't remain seated, but quickly bade Duke Vortigen farewell instead. While doing so, he relegated all of the palace affairs to him, leaving two pastors in charge of taking care of Elliot VIII.

He then left and headed immediately to the Yi Wensi estate. As he saw Sean's hastily retreating figure, Duke Vortigen let out a sinister smile.

"This is how they left the city."

As it turns out, this wasn't the estate of Yi Wensi, but rather an old water tower, which was quite far from his estate! An executioner from the Judges of Light had tracked the location down, finding that the kin of Yi Wensi had fled there while they were on the run from the city. Sean took a torch and gestured below. "Have you all been down there yet?"

The executioner replied. "We have already sent people down there to investigate. There is a meeting room and a few other tunnels, some of which lead to other parts of the city, as well as to the outside."

Sean led a few executioners down into the dark meeting room, which had an ominous sense of mystery. Seam slammed his fists down on the table.

"So, Yi Wensi was the leader of the Gathering of Darkness. This time, we finally caught him. However, he died before we could ask him any questions. Now we must search, find out where each tunnel leads and determine the identities of every member of this table!"

A few people dragged in a middle-aged man in a coarse cotton shirt. "Chief Justice, we have a new lead."

Sean glanced at the man. "Who is this?"

"Yi Wensi's driver. He has said that he often saw Yi Wensi getting in a special carriage always headed to an unknown destination. And then, a while ago, when he picked up Yi Wensi, he said that he saw Yi Wensi bringing back a strange package."

Sean looked at the driver. "What package? Tell me the details."

The man looked terrified. He trembled, not daring to raise his head as he answered Sean, "Around ten days ago, on one late rainy night, the Earl had me wait for him at the second alley by Lir Street. He had arrived there empty-handed, but came back with a strange package."

"What package?"

"It seemed like a sword. No, it was definitely a sword, because I saw its grip. It was a beautiful snowy white, and it had strange symbols on it."

Sean and everyone else at the scene now stood a little straighter, glaring at the driver. Sean drew a few symbols. "Did they look like this?"

"Yes, I remember. They looked exactly like that. There's no mistake." The driver affirmed, still shaking.

"The Sword of the King!"

Sean waved his hand and white light flashed, destroying the table. Sean then roared in fury. "So it was Yi Wensi! The old fox has been proclaiming his loyalty to our Church while being a complete heretic!"

"How long has it been since the escape of the Yi Wensi household?"

The executioner had already investigated the matter, so was ready to answer the question immediately. "Over half a day. They may already be quite a distance away by now."

"Then chase them!" roared Sean. "The Sword of the King must be in the hands of Yi Wensi's children. We must catch up to them. Send word to Captain Charles and Archbishop Leon. We will use all of our forces to track them down!"

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Chapter 118: Border Conflict

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Don't be afraid. As long as we escape to the land of the orcs, we'll be saved."

"Mother, what happened? I don't want to live in the filthy country of the orcs. Why are we going there?"

A carriage that was protected by a few knights was crossing the Red River plains, headed on its way to the orc lands. A slightly pudgy mother was holding her younger son, while her older son lifted the curtain to peer outside from time to time.

During the journey, there had been several close calls, but nothing had gone drastically wrong yet. Although the Church of Light had set up numerous barriers, through some of her husband's connections and friends, the little family had managed to leave the Crete Empire.

They were so very close now, for as soon as they crossed the Red River plains, they would be safe. Once they arrived there, people from the Kingdom of Menkaure would come to receive them.

A squad of knights clad in shining armor crossed through a Crete Empire frontier town, following the carriage tracks. They had already gone for two days without rest, each person switching between horses in order to keep heading onward. The horses were understandably exhausted and reaching their limits.

"Quick, quick, they're not far now. We must capture them before they reach the land of the orcs!"

The stallions puffed out hot breaths, speeding up after being whipped across the channel by the knights. They sped out past the town on the road, the guards of the local city not daring to stop them after seeing the insignia on the horses and the knights. Instead, all of the guards simply stood stick straight, staring at the knights as they headed off into the distance.

Following the Red River across the rolling plains, they finally saw a line of carriages that was fleeing along the horizon. All of the Church of Light scouts, who had been chasing them for two days, displayed expressions of frenzied delight.

The escaping carriages also saw the pursuers on the horizon, causing them to also begin pushing their steeds in order to gain some distance. The mother in the carriage crawled out with her younger son and screamed for her older son, Pazak.

"Pazak remember… run! Cross that line over there into the land of the orcs! Take Allen and run!"

Yi Wensi's wife quickly thrust a package into the chest of her younger sun and passed him to Pazak. Pazak, who was covered in armor, looked at his mother as he caught Allen.

"What about you?"

His mother was impatient and wildly pushed at Pazak to go. "There is no time! I can't escape, so you two must go on ahead. Use the package as a treasure to exchange for your safety. Remember to give it to the King of Menkaure. Do not trust anyone else. Quick, go now. Don't worry about me, and take care of your brother!"

Pazak saw the pursuers hot on their tails, as they were almost right upon them. He hardened his heart and hugged Allen, who was howling with tears. He then pulled the reins, hurtling towards the border of the Kingdom of Menkaure.

By the time the Knights of Light had arrived, there were only a few servants, who had been left behind to buy time. As the cavalry stormed ahead, they drew their swords to attack the servants. Blood flew through the air as the servants collapsed, one by one. Defenseless, they had been completely annihilated.

The knights opened the carriage drapes to find the corpse of a woman. "This is the wife of Yi Wensi. The Holy Sword is not here. It must have been taken away by the other two."

"If we go any further, we will be in the borders of the Kingdom of Menkaure. That would trigger a war between humanity and the orcs. Should we continue?"

All of the scouts looked at their leader, waiting for his command. The captain made a gesture. "Continue, no matter what. We must get the Holy Sword back."

Pazak's horse had already crossed into the Kingdom of Menkaure. A huge stone tablet was erected at the border, marking his entrance into their official lands. At first, he thought he was safe. However, he did not expect that the pursuers would actually ignore the possibility of provoking a war between the orcs and humanity, and cross straight into Menkaure in pursuit of him.

"Shuu—"

A sharp arrow cut through the wind and crossed over a hundred meters at once, goring straight through Pazak's shoulder and hitting his horse. Pazak fell to the ground with his horse, due to the momentum from the sudden halt.

The pursuers closed the distance swiftly. Pazak struggled to stand up and dragged his brother into a run. Yet, this was futile, as humans could run faster than horses, especially the specially raised warhorses of the Knights of Light.

The scout soldiers drew their blades and focused all of their attentions on the escapees. Just like hawks that were circling over rabbits, all of their eyes glittered with a cold killing intent.

Yet, at this time, on the slope ahead, a commotion erupted. A leopard man soldier had appeared on the slope, followed by the appearance of more and more cavalry. Ahead, they formed a long, dense line, with even more soldiers lined up behind that.

The soldiers leading the horses on the mountain shouted. "Stop, human soldiers! This is the territory of the Kingdom of Menkaure. You humans do not belong here."

It was as if Pazak saw his salvation! He sprinted towards the hill and pulled out a badge, shouting, "I am a friend of Menkaure, a member of the Yi Wensi family of the Crete Empire."

The leopard-man, who was clad in chainmail armor and was leading the soldiers, looked at Pazak and nodded. The cavalry parted the line, allowing the two brothers to head to the back in a gesture of goodwill and acceptance.

The faces of the scouts of the Knights of Light were ashen. All of them recognized the identity of these troops as being the Hurricane Knights of the Kingdom of Menkaure. As the elites of the entire Kingdom of Menkaure, it was definitely no coincidence that they were there. They were here to welcome the escapees.

The leader of the scouts stepped forward. He could not speak Sofawk, so he spoke to them in the human language of Phinks. "Soldiers of Menkaure, we are members of the Church of Light's Knights of Light. As you know, the people you are protecting are traitors of the Church of Light. They have stolen a treasure of the Church of Light. Your actions are the same as a declaration of war against the Church of Light."

The head of the Hurricane Knights didn't think that, after trespassing into Menkaure, the Knights of Light would mock him. It was already a humiliation that he had not ordered his troops to wipe them out. The Knights of Light were completely looking down on him now.

The captain raised his head and bared his fangs, then shouted out a thundering angry roar. "Get lost or die here!"

The leader of the scouts gripped his longsword hard as his veins popped out. All ten of the proud Knights of Light behind him were also infuriated. Yet, they only had a bit over ten people, while the opponents had an entire squadron with hundreds of troops. Their side stood no chance of winning.

The scout leader swept a cold gaze over the orc cavalry. "You will pay for your folly."

"We're heading back!"

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Chapter 119: Prelude to War

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Compared to the human kingdoms, the architecture of the orc kingdoms was much more simple, with an emphasis on large, open designs with high ceilings and big halls. Pazak brought along his brother, Allen, as the two crossed the large simple hall of the palace and knelt before the King of Menkaure.

Beneath a giant stone pillar, at the top of a row of stairs, there was a huge throne. The King had a pair of eyes that were completely different from those of regular humans. These eyes had an animalistic quality that chilled Pazak to the core. Pazak lowered his head, not daring to look up at the orc King, who was rumored to enjoy feasting on humans.

"Oh Great King, we are here to offer you the greatest respect. We come bringing a gift, with the hope that you can accept us."

The King of Menkaure was a middle-aged leopard man. After receiving the Sword of the King, his gaze glittered with enchanted greed. He was so focused on the sword, he did not look at the two humans at all.

He only had eyes for the beautiful long sword. He dismissed the two with a hand wave, causing them to retreat at once. "So, this is the legendary Sword of the King? Whoever holds it will have mastery over the Alen Continent?!"

A cat-person official approached. "Exactly! In the legends, whoever could activate the power of the Sword of the King would be the king chosen by God. So far, not a single person has been able to activate its power. Even the legendary Pope of the Church of Light has not been able to activate its divine abilities. Even so, the Church of Light has borrowed its authority in order to rule over half of the human nations. And now, it has fallen into your hands."

The King of Menkaure laughed. He was delighted. He could already feel the extreme power of the sword. "Ah, I feel as if the eyes of God are upon me."

A minotaur general approached. "Your Majesty, it is only a sword. Why would we want it, if it will offend the strongest force in humanity, the Church of Light? Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness, but this does not seem like a wise decision."

The King looked at the general, displeased. His green beast eyes glowed with irritation. "Are you calling me a fool?"

The general fell to the floor, fearful now. "I would not dare! Only, the Church of Light is likely to start a war with us over this Sword of the King. We have not fought with humanity for many decades. Why would we start a war now, after enjoying so many years of peace?"

The king harrumphed. "Be at ease, the Emperor of Crete Elliot VIII has died, so the succession may occur at any time. Thus, the Church will be unable to move any of the Crete nobility and forces at this time."

The king continued his speech. "As for the four platoons stationed within the Kingdom of the Church, there have been 10,000 cavalry deployed with one army. Of the other three armies, at least two of them would not yet have been deployed. Considering the present unrest in the Crete Empire, there is nothing to fear, as they are unable to start a war with us now."

"As for the Church, since they would like the Sword back, they will be willing to pay any price. Haha, why wouldn't I take this sort of amazing bargain that has fallen from the skies? I will definitely ask the Church for gold, riches, weapons and horses. This time, we can get everything that we have always sought at once. I know for certain that the Church is completely swimming in wealth."

The King of Menkaure raised the Sword of the King, stepping on the beast skin carpet as he returned to his throne. "With this, we do not have to fear the Church's refusal!"

—————–

A week later, within the Kingdom of the Church, at St. Sarl City, a stream of letters arrived from afar. The letters were delivered with haste to the meeting room, where the Pope and four Archbishops were seated.

Archbishop Arthur was the first to speak. "We cannot agree to the demands of the Kingdom of Menkaure. This is about the glory of God. What are they thinking? They stole our divine artifact to blackmail us? If we capitulate to their demands, we will lose all of our dignity. Our reputation will be completely destroyed."

Another Archbishop remarked also. "But, we cannot declare war against the Kingdom of Menkaure. At most, we can deploy the Knights of Light and the Knights of Holy Glory, which is a total of 30,000 people. Even adding to that Cardinal Leon's forces, that is still only a total of 50,000 men. The Kingdom of Menkaure definitely has at least 80,000 in their regular army."

"Even if they are not as skilled as our men, it will be enough to block our advance. The longer this drags on, the more forces they can gather, maybe even up to 100,000 or 200,000 men, especially if reinforcements are sent by the other orc nations or clans."

At that moment, a thin Archbishop, who was newly anointed, shared his opinion. "According to the information sent by Chief Justice Sean, the affair in the Crete Empire, as well as the sudden emergence and destruction of the Gathering of Darkness, seem too sudden and too good to be true. He feels that there is a conspiracy, because it seems too easy. I feel that this is completely different from the careful style of the Gathering of Darkness from before."

"According to Chief Justice Sean, all of this may be related to Duke Vortigen of the Crete Empire. According to the report, His Majesty Elliot VIII has reached his limits. His health was already approaching the limit. So, with the recent injury, even with a priest giving him life support, it is likely that…"

Pope Hodap closed his eyes, still listening to their conversation, but also lost in his own thoughts. At this time, a sound entered the meeting room from outside. Saintess Kelly entered, accompanied by a few acolyte maidens. Compared to a few years ago, the Saintess appeared to be more mature, having a pure aura and appearance. She seemed like a living statue of the Goddess of Light.

"The Sword of the King cannot be lost. I will go personally to ensure this. No matter what conspiracy is in the Crete Empire, and regardless of the orcs of the Kingdom of Menkaure, we cannot allow the shaming of the Church of Light."

Pope Hodap stood up to greet the Saintess. "Oh no, you are the nucleus of the Church of Light, the descendant of God and the symbol of divine authority. As long as you are here, the Kingdom of the Church and St. Sarl City will definitely be safe. If Your Holiness leaves, or even has any accidents, the entire Church would be thrown into chaos. It has not yet reached that stage. However, I have already made preparations."

Hodap turned around. "Issue a Church proclamation to Duke Vortigen of the Crete Empire, crowning him as the next Emperor of the Crete Empire. Arthur, you will represent me, going personally to Virginia City to host a coronation ceremony for him."

"You will also carry my message to him. He should use all of his forces to support us in attacking the Kingdom of Menkaure. I will order the Knight of Holy Glory and the Executioners to accompany you, while sending the same order to Charles. This time, we are aiming for a swift victory."

Hodap's tone was ice cold, completely forgetting that the previous Emperor of Crete, Elliot VIII, was still technically alive. Yet, no one there treated him as a living being.

"We are activating the Executioners? This eases my mind. This time, I will let them know the fear of holy judgement." Arthur stood up to carry out the order.

The Saintess looked at Hodap, who immediately replied. "I understand the intentions of Your Holiness, I already messaged Chief Justice Sean to investigate whether Duke Vortigen is connected to the Gathering of Darkness and the theft of the Sword. But, for now, it is more important to stabilize the situation and retrieve the Sword first. This way, we can also preserve the authority of the Church."

"If he really is involved with this incident, he will soon come to know the dark punishments that result from such misdeeds." Hodap thumped his scepter on the ground, his countenance turning incomparably frosty.

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Chapter 120: Destruction of the Kingdom of Menkaure

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the Spring of San Calendar Year 21, Elliot VIII of the Crete Empire passed away at the age of forty-two. Since all of his male offspring had died in the rebellion, the first in line to the throne was Duke Vortigen, who succeeded his brother's throne as the Emperor of Crete with the title of Vortigen I.

Afterwards, the Church and the Crete Empire formed an allied army with Charles, the head of the Knights of Light, acting as the Commander. They declared war against the Kingdom of Menkaure with over 80,000 knights and around 100,000 recruited soldiers. The army of over 200,000 crossed the Red River Plains and attacked the Kingdom of Menkaure, which had not made any preparations for war.

The Crete Imperial Army was skilled in uphill battles, while the Menkaure troops were very weak in the area of siege defense. Hence, the human allied forces quickly stormed into Menkaure and instantly set the nation aflame.

Among the 200,000, other than the ordinary soldiers, there were many soldiers that had been conscripted by the nobles, as well as knights from their retinue. These people participated in the war for one reason, and it was not by the orders of the Church and the Emperor. Instead, it was solely with the aim to pillage.

As such, they did not carry much food with them, and earned their livings on the battlefield, sustaining their lives with their lusts for wealth. This ambition boosted both their morale and battle prowess.

Wherever the allied army swept through, the ground would be littered with bodies. The human army had become a group of pillaging thieves, who burned all that they saw to the ground.

Sometimes, there was no difference between these soldiers and the bandits, especially when facing a different race. They left a steady trail of blood, all the while stuffing their wallets, the entire way to the capital of the Kingdom of Menkaure. In fact, the entire kingdom was filled with screams and crimson blood.

The king and the nobles of Menkaure had never thought that the Crete Empire, which was on the verge of chaos itself, would stabilize so quickly, much less complete a transition of power to form an allied army with the Church of Light, and then declare war on them! As the war continued and the army approached, they all fell into complete hysterics.

The Kingdom of Menkaure hastily scrapped together an army of 70,000. They then decided to use the geography of the Kary Valley in order to stop the advance of the human army, while seeking reinforcements from the other orc kingdoms and large clans.

Within the first three days, the Menkaure army successfully delayed the human allied army. But by the fourth day, the human side sent out their first special abilities team, the Ministers of Execution.

Dozens of priests with special abilities led the Knights of Light in destroying the entire orc army. Holy light and longswords swept the battlefield. In their wake, numerous bodies littered the ground.

They were unstoppable. The beastmen army scattered in terror, while the allied army chased them. From the Kary Valley to the capital of Menkaure, the path was paved with discarded armor and dead bodies.

A large amount of bodies of the fallen orc soldiers floated down the Kary River. The fish in the river grew fat feasting on their bloated corpses. The entire river was dyed blood red.

From the beginning of the war to its current progress to the capital, only half a month had passed. The human allied army was already pushing the Kingdom of Menkaure to the brink of destruction.

Before the allied army arrived, news of the defeat of the large orc army had spread to the capital. The capital of Menkaure descended into absolute chaos, as all the nobles, officials, merchants and citizens scrambled to pack their belongings and escape.

Even the servants and guards of the palace were in a panic, and crowds of people were running around. A lot of servants even started looting the palace as they prepared to flee. The morale of the entire kingdom was completely gone, as the signs of annihilation were eminent.

The King of Menkaure sat on the throne with soulless eyes, holding the legendary Sword of the King in his hands. The throne room was empty, without a single lit lamp. It had lost all feeling of its past glory. Footsteps were heard as the minotaur general approached.

"Your Highness, the preparations are ready."

The King of Menkaure, now aged beyond his years, lifted his head and asked, "How did this happen? How did it come to this so suddenly?"

He stood up, his leopard eyes narrowed. "They deceived us. It was the Gathering of Darkness! It was those wizards! You have tricked us! It was you, all of you! Otherwise, how would they dare attack us? How would they do this with such speed? It's not my fault, not me!"

The King fell into a state of near madness. At last, he could only laugh a long bitter laugh, morose and broken.

The royal capital was ruled by frenzied chaos, as the citizens ran and screamed up and down the streets. The allied army wasn't even here yet, but it seemed as if the Apocalypse had already descended. The streets were packed. People could be heard screaming at one another, crushing each other in a mad scramble to get out of the city.

The King led his son through an underground passage out of the city. Outside the city, there were a hundred knights stationed. Since the prince was born late in the king's life, he especially treasured the child. After hugging him, the king handed him to a leopard-man knight.

The child bursted into tears. "Father, what's happening? I don't want to leave you."

The king's heart ached, and he wrung his hands in grief. The knights saluted the king and departed immediately. The king only looked back after the knights had departed. As he did so, he could no longer hold back his weary tears.

"The Church of Light would never let me go. I will run this way to avoid attracting their attention."

The King of Menkaure led the remaining ten soldiers and departed. By dawn, the capital could be seen in the distance, alight in flames and descending into a blazing inferno. The king and his knights were completely shocked.

"What are they doing? It's a massacre. What do they want?"

"Humanity, the Church of Light, and the Crete Empire!"

The King of Menkaure fell from his horse and struggled to stagger back up. He gnashed his teeth in pure hatred and regret, as he repeated these three things over and over again.

This scene made all of the people present shed unbidden tears. By then, they were upriver by the Kary River. As soon as they crossed the river, they would be far enough away. Yet, at this moment, fleeing was not on their minds. Many orc soldiers dismounted and knelt down, facing the city.

From afar, the sound of hooves and armor gradually drifted closer. These were the pursuers of the allied army. They looked like a black mass, approaching like a shadow of the night. They would not forget the King of Menkaure nor the Sword of Light he held.

The minotaur general drew his longsword, but he did not look at the enemy. Instead, his steady gaze never left his king. "Your Majesty, do you regret your decision?"

The king was silent, and the general did not wait for an answer. He led his ten knights into battle against the enemy, as the sound of clashing blades and battlecries resounded with the rise of dawn.

Surrounded by the human army, no matter how brave these warriors were, they all died, one by one. The minotaur general was taken down by three people, as multiple swords gored through his chest and back. As he fell to the ground, he knelt towards the capital and closed his eyes one final time.

Only the King of Menkaure was left. He stood by the Kary River with his crown and beast skin robes, looking at the neat squadron approaching him. All of them glared at him with icy killing intent, observing this fallen king. Whoever fetched his head and brought back the Sword of the King, would receive wealth, glory, land and everything beyond imagination.

The King of Menkaure turned around and held the Sword of the King tightly as he looked at the army surrounding him. His shocked expression turned unbelievably sinister, the hatred and fury in his eyes radiating out from his entire being. When he spoke, the muscles in his neck were trembling. "Humanity, I curse you! I curse you!"

His gaze swept past all of the humans at the scene, imprinting their ugly features as it went, including the longswords and armor that was tainted with the fresh blood of the orcs. Their bodies were drenched in the lifeblood of the orc. As the light of the rising sun fell on them, it felt as if an aura of blood had started rolling outwards. Even their voices had transformed into echoes of despair.

"You will pay for your sins. You will never get this Sword of the King. One day, it will belong to a King of the Orcs, who will return this pain to you a thousand-fold."

After finishing this sentence, the King of Menkaure turned around and threw himself into the torrents of the Kary River. The Sword of the King disappeared within the rolling waves of the river.

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Chapter 121: Traveling Around the World

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

San Calendar Year 21, the human allied forces attacked the Orc King of Menkaure. In the wake of the war, heavy taxes were levied on food and living expenses, causing chaos. All order within the city was lost, as humanity devolved into committing acts of arson and robbery.

In the end, the entire capital was annihilated. The hundreds of thousands of orcs that had yet to flee the city were massacred by the allied forces, and the entire bustling capital of Menkaure was burned to the ground.

The King of Menkaure ended his own life, jumping into the Kary River after being chased by the allied forces. The war had exhausted the resources of the Menkaure Kingdom. It collapsed shortly thereafter, and was now just another name in the history books.

In Ayer City, a team of human cavalry soldiers, dressed in armor and helmets, trekked along a small path.The orc farmers retreated to the sides of the roads, staring down at the ground, as they were afraid to make eye contact.

The entire city had been emptied. Some had fled to the mountains, while others had fled back to their former clans. All of the shops in the west side of the city had been closed. Only Lu Zhiyu's clinic remained open. It was filled with many injured patients, who were lying in bed.

The expedition force held up its golden red flag, which showed the insignia of the Knights of Light. They entered the city, finding the gates wide open. There were no guards left. In fact, almost all of the people of Ayer City had long since fled. Even the officials, who had been running the city, had abandoned it.

The cavalry was boisterous, as it paraded through the streets. All of the buildings' doors were shut tightly, as those in the few remaining households watched them through their doors and windows in horror. Finally, they stopped in front of the doors of Lu Zhiyu's clinic,looking at him.

"Hey, Saint Maria!"

"Saint Maria!"

The knights exchanged greetings with Lu Zhiyu, as their hands were laid on their chests, according to the common mannerisms of the Church of Light. "Mr. Randhir? I have two soldiers, who have been seriously injured, and I would like to seek your help. I can't believe I have found a human doctor here!"

"As long as there are patients who need us, we will be here. However, we save people, while you only kill them. This is just a simple little town. All of the rich people within the city have long since fled. All of the remaining citizens are only some kind, poor folks. So, please do no evil here!" Lu Zhiyu stared sternly into the knight's eyes.

The knight replied immediately, "We are not the dogs and executioners of the nobles. We are the shepherds of the gods. My name is Brian. I am a knight from St. Sarl City. Rest assured, we are not like those other robbers. We only came here to accomplish a mission."

Lu Zhiyu took them inside, then moved the two wounded men to the second-floor clinic. The other orcs in the hospital watched them with hostility. Lu Zhiyu had to treat them personally. Both of them were seriously injured.

One had lost a hand and suffered from excessive blood loss, while the other had an arrow that was lodged in his abdomen. Though part of the arrow was cut off, the rest of it was embedded deep within him, making it quite difficult to pull out.

After Lu Zhiyu had treated them, they were in much better states. After taking their medicine and getting bandaged up, they fell asleep.

"I didn't expect to find such a skilled doctor here. You are much better than the court doctors!" Brian exclaimed, as he thanked Lu Zhiyu.

Lu Zhiyu sat and chatted with him for a bit. "I am quite close to Bohr Kelermo."

Brian sat up immediately, utterly in awe now. "You are a friend of Mr. Kelermo? I have always admired him! Due to his research, we now have cures for many diseases. As such, a doctor was recently able to save my mother!"

During the conversation, it was easy to see that Brian was very friendly to doctors. He was also extremely angry and dissatisfied with the actions of the armies, which were led by the nobles among the human coalition forces.

He had come here with a mission from the upper reaches along the Kary River, ordered to look for something. Brian did not elaborate on the exact details of the item.

Ayer City was already downstream of the Kary River. If they went any further south, they would reach the tributaries of the Kary River, including the Red River. As such, it seemed that they had failed to accomplish their mission.

In the evening, Lu Zhiyu came to the deserted Kary River. This was quite a far distance downstream, so the river was relatively slow moving. From time to time, in the last few days, a large number of bodies would float by from upstream, their blood dying the water red. Those incidents cast a sinister feel upon the entire river. Even the fish in the river seemed ghastly.

After waiting for a long time, Lu Zhiyu saw something that was approaching from the distance. It went against the current, then leapt out of the water to hover in the air. It was a silvery-white holy sword.

On top of the longsword, Lu Zhiyu's inscribed runes could be seen. The general meaning on the inscriptions were: humility, honesty, empathy, courage, fairness, sacrifice, glory, soul. They were the Eight Virtues of the Knight that Lu Zhiyu had chosen. The holy name of Faross decorated the sword's hilt.

Lu Zhiyu reached out, the sword falling directly into his hand. Lu Zhiyu held it flat in his hands, as he traced his finger across the blade. He hadn't expected the sword, which he had made as a bit of a joke, to provoke so much conflict within the Alen Continent. The originally unremarkable sword really did seem to hold some sort of strange mission, as it was currently shrouded in a sacred light.

After decades beside Ahenaten, it had been sealed for more than a thousand years inside his tomb, before finally falling into the hands of the Church of Light. After all these twists and turns, it continued to cause remarkable turmoil upon the continent. Each appearance and disappearance seemed to influence the lives and deaths of countless people.

Now, it was back in the hands of Lu Zhiyu. It had been well-maintained, and it appeared not to be much different than how it was when he had originally awarded it to Ahenaten. Only now, it somehow felt heavier, as if it had obtained the weight of a thousand years.

Lu Zhiyu mused, "Isn't this just an ordinary longsword? Why fight so hard for it?"

After the departure of Brian's squad, the last wave of the human armies also withdrew from the Kingdom of Menkaure. The armies of the other orc kingdoms and the nearby large orc tribes immediately descended on the ravaged land, aiming to gain territory. They were just like wolves that scavenged the body of a buffalo. They only brought more disasters upon the already traumatized people of Menkaure.

The entire Kingdom of Menkaure was in a state of complete chaos. Multiple forces rose up, as other tribes and kingdoms invaded and divided the land. The kingdom's original peace had completely disappeared.

The city of Ayer had also completely fallen. One by one, all of the people in the remaining households departed. Gradually, it became an entirely empty city.

Lu Zhiyu stood outside his clinic in the sun. He carried a large suitcase. The winds carried sand and dust through the deserted shopping street. The empty shop doors and windows were boarded up, having long since been abandoned. The late spring breeze and the soft sunlight would have normally felt warm and intoxicating, but at the moment, it could only be described as a bleak scene.

Lu Zhiyu looked at the familiar streets, shops, and the furnishings on his door. All of them held many memories, but now, everyone was gone. Lu Zhiyu was the last to leave this empty city.

Since the Kingdom of Menkaure was destroyed by the humans, as they had conducted many mass killings. They had also looted, while burning the cities. Even though there had previously been goodwill towards Lu Zhiyu, his relations with the orcs became more strained with each passing day. Lu Zhiyu was gradually isolated, as he became more unpopular. In fact, many people in groups had left without telling Lu Zhiyu, much less inviting him to come along.

Verthandi clung to his thigh. "Daddy, I don't want to leave our home!"

She pouted, as tears swirled in her eyes. "Why was there a war? Everyone was fine, so why did everything change?"

Lu Zhiyu knelt down. "There are many reasons to start a war. Revenge, interests, desires, greed… All of these things have caused wars. But most importantly, remember that the result of a war cannot be controlled. Once a war is initiated, it is like a beast that has been released from its cage. All of the evil hidden within creatures is released, which eventually leads to irreparable results. The people who initiate wars always think that they can control everything. They always hope to gain something through the war, but in most cases, it does not go as planned. Most times, both sides just sustain grievous damages."

Verthandi raised a small fist. "I will be a virtuous knight in the future, like a hero from the stories. I will stop the wars. I want to protect everyone, including you, Daddy!"

Looking at Little Trouble's innocent face, and hearing her childish words, Lu Zhiyu could not help but laugh. "Sure, you can protect Daddy in the future."

She immediately made a strong, proud pose, but with her tiny and cute face, she looked nothing like a knight. Lu Zhiyu lifted the suitcase, then took the her hand, as they stepped out of the clinic onto the road.

"Daddy, where are we going?"

"Hmm? Us? Let's travel around the world!"

The sun's rays shone on the two of them, one big and one small, as their two long shadows stretched along the empty streets. The laughter of the little girl echoed on the streets.

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Thirteen years had since passed. It was now the fall of San Calendar Year 34.

A large ship approached the city of Danello in the Kingdom of Engido. It was a port city that had grown within the recent years. Though sea monsters and Children of the Sea were still almost impossible to kill, humanity had already devised methods to avoid them, developing safer seafaring routes.

This orc city, which had developed due to trade, had incorporated the opposing influences of humanity's elegance and attention to detail with the orcs' tastes for more basic simplicity, creating a surprisingly wonderful combination. From afar, the outline of the city could be seen from the seas, its port lined with several merchant vessels, including an array from both the human and orc kingdoms. A large number of dockworkers were constantly bustling around the port, creating a lively scene.

The stone buildings within the city were surrounded constantly with the daily crowds of passersby. A tall clock tower and a beautiful church could be seen clearly, even from the docks. In fact, they could even be seen from the far off horizon.

At that moment, two people approached. They were dressed in identical sky blue pullovers, black pants, and boots. For the shorter figure, the pullover seemed to be quite long, extending past the knees. Both of them had identical short hair and handsome features.

The tall figure was a bearded man. He had black hair and black eyes. The shorter individual was a blonde lion orc youth. Both of them carried backpacks and longswords. As the pair lifted their suitcases down from the ship, they made their ways into Danello.

There where many races on the roads of the trading city, including several types of orcs and human merchants. Within a church in the city, Lu Zhiyu met a dog-person orc that was clad in a black priest's habit.

This signified that he was a member of the Church of Light within the orc kingdom, however, unlike the human version, they called themselves the Faith of the Sun and believed in the Sun Goddess Maria. The variation was not only revealed in the name, but even their beliefs and rituals of worship had major differences.

The Faith of the Sun, or the orc adaption of the Church of Light, stemmed from an attempt that occurred a few decades ago, when the Church of Light tried to expand within the orc kingdoms. Although it was effective to a certain extent, it still wasn't popular.

However, after the battle that destroyed the Kingdom of Menkaure, the Church of Light and the Executioners had demonstrated an overwhelming power. Not only did many orcs start hating the Church of Light and humanity, but it was also extremely effective in spreading the faith of the Church of Light in the lands of the orcs. This combination of fear and power had made for an unexpectedly effective conversion tactic.

Religions within the orc kingdoms also went through countless changes, fights, and mergers on their way to forming the Faith of the Sun. Though its roots were much weaker as compared to the Church of the Light, its development was still extremely fast. Within a little more than a decade, the Sun Faith had spread throughout most of the orc kingdoms. Many tribes had also converted, thus embracing the Sun Faith.

After walking into the church, Lu Zhiyu hollered a loud greeting. Immediately, an orc Sun Faith priest turned around. "Hello! If it isn't Baron Randhir Eranbell and our handsome Will! You're all grown up! The two of you are quite alike, even if Will is just a bit too short, unlike you and most lion-people!"

Verthandi rolled her eyes upon hearing the old orc's teasing. Her height had always been a bit of a sore spot that Lu Zhiyu teased her about. Now that the old orc had brought it up, she behaved a bit like a cat whose tail was just stepped on. She scowled at the older orc, feeling more than a bit sensitive.

Lu Zhiyu gave the old orc a warm hug. "My old friend Cory, I am glad to see you."

"It's been ten years, yet you still have the same energy."

"I have already grown old, but you haven't changed at all."

After a bit of small talk back and forth, Cory invited Lu Zhiyu into a guest room in the back. The two talked as they walked. "I heard you will soon be promoted to become a bishop?"

Cory seemed very happy after hearing Lu Zhiyu's words. He smiled as he replied, "All of the Bishops have been transferred to other locations, so I am already the acting bishop. As soon as the higher ups send the order, I'll be able to wear the white robes."

Lu Zhiyu was also quite happy for Cory. He was a devout believer, who had been around since the founding of the Faith ten years ago, back when it was still being suppressed. After being transferred to the city of Danello, he had been promoted. Now, as the acting Bishop of Danello, he wielded considerable influence within the Faith of Sun.

"Congratulations, you have finally gained control over the Grand Church of Danello. This is the dream of quite a few Faith of Sun clergy."

Cory accepted Lu Zhiyu's well wishes. "If I have the chance, I wish to visit St. Sarl City for a pilgrimage. I'd like to see the legendary kin of god, Her Holiness the Saintess, and the divine artifact, the Mask of Faross, which is a true sign of God. I hope one day, we too will receive a divine artifact and divine blessings from the Heavens!"

He continued. "Haha, but maybe that is me being too greedy. I will honestly be quite satisfied if I can enter the Kingdom of God after my passing. Even that is too much to ask for."

Lu Zhiyu knew that the Sun Faith has been searching tirelessly for divine artifacts, as they often tried to contact the divine. Yet they had not received any response. Besides, they had been searching for the Sword of the King, which had been lost over ten years, without results.

After getting seated and chatting for awhile, Lu Zhiyu jumped into the main topic, his upcoming visit to the Kingdom of Engido. "I heard that an evil dragon has appeared within the Kingdom of Engido."

Cory's expression instantly changed. "Do not speak of the matter. It is rumored that this dragon is likely to appear, once it is summoned."

Cory then got up and closed the window superstitiously, speaking very carefully. "But, yes, that is right. It is an evil white dragon that appeared about a year ago. After its appearance, it has pillaged many villages and robbed merchant vessels. After that, it became even crazier, raiding cities. Last month, it even stole away our princess, escaping with her to the Amos Icefield. It has demanded a ransom from the king, who has now set a bounty on the head of the dragon for the rescue of the princess."

Of course Lu Zhiyu knew that he was able to pinpoint the location of the dragon. However, the purpose of this time's journey was to set up a trial for Little Trouble, while raising her abilities to give her a chance to grow.

Yet, Lu Zhiyu had never expected this dragon to be so arrogant! Its personality and deeds were identical to the evil dragons of legend. Lu Zhiyu had to wonder if this was all due to the initial designs that he had programmed within their genes? He had given all the dragons a love for gold, but they had also received variations according to their subspecies. If Lu Zhiyu recalled correctly, white dragons seemed to be programmed to be…lustful?!

So, why did it capture the princess of the orcs? The size and species were a wrong fit for such a scenario. What did the white dragon want to do?

Lu Zhiyu's head spun with these questions, while he pressed onwards. He then turned to ask Cory, "What is the most convenient route to the Amos Icefield?"

Cory looked at Lu Zhiyu. "You're not thinking of slaying the dragon to save the princess, right? My God, you're full of surprises old fella! But, I wouldn't recommend leaping towards your own death in such a way!"

Although Lu Zhiyu was miffed by the tone of the old orc, he knew that his friend was only teasing, so he decided to ignore it and continue on. Seeing his reaction, Cory gave a huge laugh, then explained. "If you want to get to the Amos Icefield, it would be best to follow, or hire, an merchant team. I do know a caravan that frequents that route. I even believe that you are already quite familiar with its owner."

"Who?"

"Elias…"

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Chapter 123: Caravan

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Up!" Lu Zhiyu was teaching Verthandi swordsmanship. The two raised their swords, posed with the exact same stance. Even their subtle movements were exactly the same.

"Pay attention to your footwork. Lower your center of gravity. Don't mess up. Look at my eyes, while looking straight ahead," he instructed.

The two swords were intertwined and clashing intermittently, as the pair practiced in the center of the backyard of the cathedral. Lu Zhiyu carefully adjusted Verthandi's footwork, wrist, stance, spirit and gaze.

Verthandi was very talented. Although she had not yet awakened her blood talent, she had reached the peak of swordsmanship in regards to pure technique. She had basically reached the highest limit that she could master at present, so all that was left for her train in was skill level.

After finishing a complete set, Lu Zhiyu put down his sword. "Yes, there is nothing to teach you in the future. Your physical condition has almost been raised to your limit."

Verthandi sat down next to a pillar, exhausted. After hearing Lu Zhiyu's words, her two furry ears immediately perked up. "Dad, does that mean that I'm almost ready to awaken my bloodline talent?"

After Verthandi had grown up a bit, Lu Zhiyu began growing a beard, so he was no longer Daddy, but just Dad. Lu Zhiyu nodded. "Almost, and after awakening your bloodline, you will be a real knight. Although you'll be a tiny knight, you'll be a knight nonetheless!"

Verthandi hissed and pounced at Lu Zhiyu, showing her fangs. She pouted and stomped her feet. "I'm only sixteen years old. I can still grow taller!"

As Lu Zhiyu was considered to be on the tall side. Verthandi, by comparison, was relatively petite, which made her particularly frustrated, because she wanted to be a great knight! In order to join the cavalry, there were height requirements, and some of the more exacting squads' criteria were pretty strict!

Verthandi waved her fist at Lu Zhiyu, who reached out and held her head down. Due to his height advantage, she couldn't reach him, no matter how hard she tried. Their hands entangled, but Lu Zhiyu kept a hand firmly on her head, laughing teasingly.

Lu Zhiyu and Verthandi were waiting for the arrival of the Elias Merchant caravan that the Bishop of Cory had mentioned in the Grand Church of Danello. They would travel together through Engido's capital, journeying to the northern lands of the Amos Icefield.

Over the past ten years, Lu Zhiyu had been traveling with Verdanti to many human and orc kingdoms. Through a coincidence, Lu Zhiyu had received an honorary title of Baron from the Kingdom of the Church of Light. Though he had no land attached to it, it had made him an actual noble now.

For more than 10 years, the two of them had relied on each other. It had really made Lu Zhiyu feel like a father. Compared to his old life, these days made Lu Zhiyu much happier. He could even forget his true identity, his powers, and his goals, as he wallowed in this newfound happiness.

A few days later, Lu Zhiyu waited outside the bathroom, standing guard. Autumn in the north was very cold, so the steam from the hot water covered the room. Training to become a knight required extremely specific conditions, including a special exercise method to temper the body to the limit. Afterwards, the brain would sense changes in the body, then unlock the bodily limits to awaken one's bloodline talent.

This required both a steady supply and large amount of food, and a supply of various medicinal materials and tempering methods. Otherwise, the body would not be able to receive the energy necessary for such rigorous training, thus making it vulnerable to injury.

Lu Zhiyu supplied Verthandi with the best of the best. There was never a shortage of supplies. As for the tempering methods, Lu Zhiyu felt that they were completely useless.

In his mind, anything that he randomly made up would be better than these human methods. As far as tonics and medicinal materials were concerned, Lu Zhiyu had a free, unlimited supply of them.

However, the awakening of the bloodline only occured when one's physique was almost stabilized. Recently, Lu Zhiyu felt that Verthandi's talent was about to awakened, so he immediately prepared a nutrient solution for her eminent breakthrough.

At this time, from behind him, the door clicked open. Verthandi entered the room, squirming in her simple nightgown. It seemed that Lu Zhiyu's preparations had paid off, and the awakening had been successful.

Verthandi shyly held the robe tightly. Lu Zhiyu looked her up and down. "What are you shy about? I'm your dad! Either way, you're so thin and bony. What is there to hide? Other people are hiding their goods. You have nothing to hide!"

Lu Zhiyu dealt a brutal hit to Verthandi, who shrieked as her blond hair swayed. She threw the vase on the table towards Lu Zhiyu, cursing him by name. "Randhir, you old pervert!"

Lu Zhiyu steadily caught the seven or eight things that Verthandi had thrown at him, without missing a single one. Just as he was gloating, he saw a bucket of bath water splashing towards him.

After playing around for a bit, Lu Zhiyu checked Verthandi's awakened bloodline talent. He was astonished at the results!

"The Golden Eye? Unexpectedly, you have inherited Ahenaten's Golden Eye. So, you now carry his bloodline!"

Verthandi was elated. She knew that she had awakened a visual ability. She had looked into a bronze mirror, seeing some subtle changes in her eyes. They had changed from their original brown shade to a more beautiful gold color.

When she looked at things now, she saw that the entire world had undergone tremendous changes. Not only had it become clearer, but her observations had also become sharper. Even the faces of the people, who were ringing the bells on the towers in the distance, could now clearly be seen. Even the vibrating wings of the bees that were flying by the window could all be seen clearly.

This would be a powerful ability in the battlefield, and could be used as a weapon of destruction. She felt that she would gain a decent ability, but she did not expect it to be the Golden Eye of the legends. News regarding this talent had non-existent for a long time. The ability to awaken this rare legendary talent was called the bloodline of the kings.

Verthandi was very happy. "Isn't this the bloodline that you passed to me? Dad, don't you know that you are the descendant of Ahenaten? Therefore, I am also a descendant of the Golden King!"

Lu Zhiyu had a very awkward expression on his face. "It seems like I do have a passing connection to Ahenaten."

At this time, there was a knock on the door downstairs. Lu Zhiyu opened it. It was a young orc cleric. "Sir, the bishop wants to see you."

Lu Zhiyu nodded. "What did Bishop Cory say was the matter?"

"It seems that the Elias Caravan has arrived. Sir Elias is currently in the front hall, chatting with the bishop."

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Chapter 124: White Dragon Frost

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

They were passing through a well-trodden path in a dark forest. The path had been packed down hard by a constant barrage of carriages, horse steeds, and footprints.

A large caravan was passing through the woods, with many alpacoids and guards trailing far behind. The Elias mechant team was quite famous within the Kingdom of Engido. It was quite large and conducted the most business. In fact, its enterprises were known to extend throughout all of the orc nations.

Lu Zhiyu was riding a horse. He was flanked on both sides by Golden Alpacas with twinkly eyes. It was an oddly embarrassing experience, as it felt like the alpacoids were somehow laughing at him. Lu Zhiyu had never thought that the Golden Alpacas and alpacoids would become so popular, back when he was designing them. Today, they had become so popular, they were common even in the orc nations!

The caravan left the shadows of the woods, encountering the sun once again. Just below the slope ahead, in the distance, loomed a huge city. It was the capital of Engido, the city of Primonius.

It was a large and exotic ancient capital. Lu Zhiyu could see many people gathering to enter the city. The collective line looked like a long river, filled with countless horses and alpacoids.

Within the city, there were many structures. These building were impressive, boasting circular domes and high towers. Stone castles and structures linked one by one as they got closer and closer. It was an awe-inspiring city indeed. Standing at its foot, it seemed as if the city wall extended even beyond the horizon, where the sky and clouds became one.

"Wow, I didn't expect such a magnificent city to be found within an orc nation!" This was Lu Zhiyu's first visit to Primonius, and he had not expected it to be such a majestic metropolis. It definitely would not be outdone, even by St. Sarl City of the Kingdom of the Church!

Elias' steed trotted behind Lu Zhiyu. "Of course, the King of Engido is an ambitious ruler with grand ideals. He has developed the Kingdom of Engido to its current state over several decades. He brought it to this age of prosperity by building up the strongest army this country has ever known. We had once believed that he would be the next Emperor of the orc nations. It's a pity!"

Lu Zhiyu was puzzled. "What's a pity?"

Elias pointed to the sky. "He is too old, so he will soon have to return to God's embrace. He is only a mortal, after all. No matter how ambitious we are, we can not defy fate or old age."

Ever since the destruction of the Kingdom of Menkaure, after losing the title of the mayor of Ayers, Elias had become a merchant. By the looks of it, his business was thriving. As he had said, though, he had also aged. In fact, he was probably going to retire soon. In preparation for this, he had brought his second son this time around, who was to succeed his caravan and noble rank.

Passing through the steel spiked arch, sounds of the passing crowds were near deafening. People were bustling everywhere. On both sides of the crown, there were armored guards with spears, attempting to maintain order. Occasionally, patrol teams would flit through the passageways, also making their rounds.

Elias spoke to Lu Zhiyu. "We will rest here and purchase some necessities. We will then depart again in three days. You two can wander around in the meantime. Welcome to Primonius, my friend."

After thanking Elias, Lu Zhiyu led away his horse and began touring the city with Verthandi. Lu Zhiyu was enhoying the local culture and architectural style, while Verthandi was more interested in finding souvenirs and good food.

Both of them carried longswords and were dressed very smartly. In this era, ordinary people were unable to purchase decent swords. At the very least, such luxuries were beyond the means of ordinary villagers and farmers. Furthermore, only a knight would be able to assemble a full set of armor. Normal folks definitely could never aspire to attain one. Of course, with the traveling pair's attire, it was easy for them to be targeted by thieves. Hence, Lu Zhiyu remained vigilant.

The city was built against a mountain, so the roads were also rolling and uneven. Most of the roads were on curving slopes, causing any attempt to traverse them to be very tiring. As such, the buildings were also scattered in uneven heights, creating a beautiful asymmetrical skyline.

Lu Zhiyu and Verthandi shopped around before heading to the entrance of the palace. It was a large white palace, which was built with white marble and was guarded with many soldiers. A large number of archers and spearman were also patrolling above on the palace walls.

By the entrance, a poster of the head of the evil dragon was tacked. Many people crowded around it. Most of them were outsiders. Suddenly, a heated discussion arose among them.

"The bounty has risen again! Now it is officially up to 10,000 Gold Lycans, with the rank of Baron and any land desired to also be awarded to the dragonslayer. It's a single step to glory!"

"So many people have died. Even One-Armed Duncan has died, along with all one hundred of his mercenaries. After taking this mission, not a single person returned alive."

"Of course, they were facing the dragon, that evil dragon Frost!"

"According to the rumor, it is tens of meters long, with a wingspan of over twenty meters. Men can only reach its ankles, and it has scales that are impervious to swords. Its breath is the flame of hell, and it can manipulate ice to freeze people into sculptures. No one has been able to defeat it. All of those who have seen it, have ended up dead!"

"Over ten rounds of people have attempted this feat. Not a single one has returned, as they all perished in the Amos Icefield, becoming food for the dragon. All of them were famous adventurers and fighters, too. So, now, no one dares go, as it is only seeking death! No matter how high the bounty is, it is meaningless if it is unobtainable!"

Verthandi spoke from Lu Zhiyu's side. "Then, why isn't the king sending the army to kill it? Why is he offering a bounty reward instead?"

All of the people turned and saw that the speaker was only a runt. Not giving her a second thought, they all looked back in disdain, muttering.

"What does a kid know? The evil dragon can fly, so even great numbers do not help in defeating it. The king has sent his army and the Blood Knights to surround the evil dragon many times, but the dragon is quite sly and refuses to engage them in direct combat."

Verthandi, seeing how she was being dismissed, became very peeved. "Isn't it just an evil dragon? What's the big deal?"

The crowd saw the arrogance of the runt, continuing to ignore her. Lu Zhiyu crossed his arms and stood behind Verthandi. "Go, take the bounty down for me."

Verthandi turned to look at Lu Zhiyu with starry eyes. "Dad, you're going to personally defeat the dragon and save the princess, like the heroes in the storybooks?"

Lu Zhiyu straightened his back and looked into the distance, as if he was possessed by a heroic aura. He let out a haughty harrumph.

"Hmph."

Verthandi rushed forth with great enthusiasm, grabbed the bounty, then turned back towards the crowd. She then yelled at them in sheer delight. "Who dares to look down on us? You bunch of cowards are all talk and no action! This time, we'll show you what real chivalry is! Dad, let's go dragonslaying! Eh, Dad? Where did you go?"

Verthandi took down the bounty posting, but saw that the figure that was in the crowd had disappeared. The soldiers on the sides were approaching, surrounding Verthandi.

"Hello sir, the king would like to see you," a soldier demanded.

Verthandi's face paled. She tried to explain, then began to back away, only to discover that the road before her was blocked. She looked to her left and right in a panic, not knowing what to do next.

"Whoever takes down the bounty posting automatically makes a contract with the king. Whoever betrays that contract will lose their head, which will then be hung on the city wall." The countenance of the soldier was extremely stern. He pointed to a flagpole on the city wall, where several severed heads were already hanging, each covered with dried blood. Their eyes were like dead fish, staring lifelessly at the ground.

Verthandi swallowed hard.

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Chapter 125: Verthandi the Knight

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Now, on this side, we have a mysterious wandering knight. This is the genius swordsman, also known as Will!"

"On the other side, is our court swordsman, the captain of the King's Guard, the great knight of Engido, Glaucus!"

In the Colosseum of Primonius, two concurrent rings formed stadium seats. They were filled with the people of the city. People from all walks of life, including businessmen, knights, and nobles, had come to watch the battles. Though the fight had yet to begin, the scene was already bustling.

At the top of the stands, there was a special seating area for the nobles. At the moment, the king and queen were sitting inside it. There were also several counts and princes present. Today was the last and most intense battle, so the king had come in person.

Verthandi did not see the king after taking down the bounty, but she had interacted with his agent, a court official. Verthandi signed a contract that provided her with a luxurious place to stay.

Several competitions were arranged for her the next day. As long as she had a winning streak, Verthandi would be recognized by the king as a knight, and she would receive a thousand Gold Lycans before setting off as the Dragonslayer.

If she could return successfully, she would become a baron. She would then receive the remaining nine thousand Gold Lycans.

At first, no one thought that this short, young knight could win, but Will defeated several powerful opponents in rapid succession. As such, she became famous throughout Primonius instantly, and like her first sixteen predecessors, she became the hottest topic in the city!

As long as she defeated the King's Guard Captain today, she would become a knight, then journey on to slay the dragon and save the princess. Lu Zhiyu stood in the stands, watching Little Trouble struggle in a difficult battle.

There was a gambling station by the king at the entrance. Anyone in the audience could participate.

Every fight earned a lot of money for the king. Each fight was enough to generate at least a few thousand Gold Lycans. Several hundred fights had already been held, which made Lu Zhiyu deeply suspicious. He wondered whether this guy really wanted to save his daughter, or if he was simply relying on this venture to make money.

"Come on, Little Trouble; Dad is proud of you!" Lu Zhiyu waved a gambling scroll while cheering for Verthandi, who was preparing for battle. Suddenly, her footwork fumbled as she looked up at Lu Zhiyu with murderous eyes.

As the opening bell rang, the two began moving immediately. Their swords clashed, thus beginning the fierce battle. The orc's great knight, Glaucus, was a wolf-man. Though he was not as tall as the lion-people, he was still a good half a head taller than Little Trouble. He was using his physique to pressure her, and his sword swung in large arcs.

Verthandi's swordsmanship had been specially designed for her by Lu Zhiyu. At the same time, Lu Zhiyu had also taught her how to face enemies with several different body types, as well as how to face different styles. He had even schooled her in capitalizing on some of the weaknesses of the wizards and priests.

Her swordsmanship was closer to the human styles, with its emphasis on close-range speed. It utilized the least amount of strength and the greatest speed, when facing opponents much greater than her. This helped her to find her opponent's flaws immediately, so that she could deal a fatal blow.

At this moment, the two fighters danced in the center of the colosseum. Their speeds were incredible. Both of them were knights, who had been trained to their physical limits with awakened bloodline talents.

Their speed and strength far exceeded any ordinary people. To normal folks, this seemed like a fight between gods. Even the after-images of the swift clashing swords appeared blurry.

The two continued to attack and avoid each other. They tried to pressure each other through various methods in order to seize the advantage. Yet, under Glaucus's wide-swung assault, Verthandi continued to retreat.

Verthandi was completely suppressed by his brute strength. He was not only powerful, but also quite fast. It seemed that he had awakened a bloodline talent that boosted his speed, which nullified Verthandi's previous advantage. Furthermore, she had just awakened her bloodline talent, while her opponent was an experienced blood knight.

The longsword swept past her blade, edging alarmingly close to Verthandi's face repeatedly. Verthandi seemed to be in jeopardy, as if she was about to break from the pressure. And yet, Verthandi was always able to somehow avoid the fatal blows at the most crucial moments. Her longsword would always appear at the exact right moment. Also, her defense was remarkably impenetrable.

The longer the battle went on, the more the battle swayed in Verthandi's favor. The Golden Eye gave her too much of an advantage by his seeking weak points. She gradually became familiar with his power, then finally her eyes burst into light.

Suddenly, she saw a gap in her opponent's movements. She had found a flaw, and the world seemed to slow. This was due to the partial activation of the potential of her Golden Eye.

Verthandi knocked away Glaucus's longsword and cut his chainmail, exposing his neck. A faint trail of blood appeared on Glaucus's neck. Verthandi had initially held back during this attack. Otherwise, Glaucus would have already been dead!

Glaucus looked at Verthandi in disbelief, as he touched his neck. Then, he stopped moving. "I have lost. Congratulations."

As Verthandi gave a knight's bow, the crowd went wild. The people, who had bet on Verthandi, roared in excitement, while the losers cursed in anger. The others would relay the news of this amazing battle, spreading the name of a mysterious young knight named Will.

As the winner received her honor and glory, the losers exited in frustration. Verthandi was knighted by the king, as he placed a longsword on her shoulder before the crowds, giving her the official title of a knight of the Kingdom of Engido. She also received a Knight's ring, as well as a set of armor that was made by Ur Steel, along with a large bag of gold coins.

Verthandi walked out in a gorgeous skirted armor, a longsword at her waist, a helmet in her left hand, and a bag full of gold coins in her right. She left the colosseum, feeling like a true hero and looking like an epic knight, straight out of a painting.

Lu Zhiyu, Elias, and many acquaintances from the caravan were waiting outside the colosseum. When Verthandi came out, they cheered in unison, as Lu Zhiyu laughed at the front. "Great job, Little Trouble, Dad is proud of you."

Verthandi slammed her helmet to the ground, then drew her sword, slashing it towards Lu Zhiyu and gnashing her teeth. "Randhir, you jerk!"

Lu Zhiyu blocked the sword from behind. No matter where Verthandi attacked him from, all of her attempts were easily deflected by one simple flick of Lu Zhiyu's wrist. Even Verthandi's Golden Eye had absolutely no effect on him.

However, Verthandi's sword was very fast, and Lu Zhiyu's sword seemed extremely slow. It didn't seem to move with a purpose, but only slowly moved to blocks the attacks. Yet, regardless of how fast Verthandi moved, she would be always be bested by that slow sword! It was as if Lu Zhiyu could guess all of her attacks, thus blocking her every attempt in advance!

Lu Zhiyu stepped forward into the clashing swords, then tapped Verthandi's back with the back of his sword. He swept Verthandi to the ground with a kick, then broke out into raucous laughter. "You want to win against your old man now, after defeating two mooks? You need to train for another eight hundred years!"

Verthandi was really angry this time, and she refused to get up. Lu Zhiyu was stumped. "Get up, we're departing tomorrow for the Amos Icefield. It's time to prepare to kill the dragon. Don't you want to be a real knight? Dragonslayer, epic knight, hero… Don't you want those fancy titles?"

Verthandi turned her head, exclaiming in indignation, "I know how powerful I am! I can't beat the dragon. I will die, and become dragon dung, like the 16 idiots before me."

Lu Zhiyu patted his chest. "Don't you trust me? This old man still has some treasures at the bottom of the suitcase to pass on to you!"

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Chapter 126: God Given Power to Rule

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Silicon is directly below carbon on the periodic table. As such, the two elements share many properties, such as their abilities to form long chains and polymers. Thus, silicon is seen as being a very promising alternate element as the basis for lifeforms.

Besides carbon-based lifeforms, silicon-based lifeforms are seen as being the most likely to occur naturally. Silicon can form metallic cells with iron and other metallic elements that possess stable cell structures and excretion systems. Those cells can then obtain energy from the outside world in order to maintain life. Lu Zhiyu had previously observed silicon-based life, but this case already seemed very different from what Lu Zhiyu had previously discovered.

Similar to the way that Lu Zhiyu had investigated evolution from carbon-based lifeforms, then modified his own genes to become more adaptable and powerful, this lifeform was also searching for a way to evolve.

In fact, it had already begun its own journey. It had even reached a status of mechanical life, with all of the individual cells being on par with, or beyond, the nanorobots that humanity was researching!

This type of lifeform had an even greater range of habitats, which enabled it to survive in vacuums. Also, it only needed energy, but not food.

Moreover, it could easily achieve what humanity could not: a status of immortality! Even if the structure was compromised, as long as the broken parts were replaced, then it would be able to regain function. These factors alone truly reveal it to be a higher lifeform, with technology far beyond Earth's imagination!

From early on, Lu Zhiyu had begun researching the conditions necessary for forming metallic cells. The first test subject was the Sword of the King, which Lu Zhiyu integrated metallic cells upon via alchemy, so that it would later on be able to serve as a base for true metal alchemy lifeforms.

Compared to carbon-based lifeforms, metallics cells were much closer to Lu Zhiyu's initial goal, which was to change the fundamental nature of cells. Carbon-based cells were weaker and required more pristine conditions in order to survive. Hence, they're completely unsustainable in harsher conditions, such as vacuums and extremely low or high temperatures.

Deified cells were developed from carbon-based lifeforms, so although Lu Zhiyu could modify them in order to repair cells with their special properties, their development was still limited by the weaknesses present in the carbon-based cells. As such, Lu Zhiyu's powers were restricted. Therefore, even enhanced divine creatures were unable to survive in extreme conditions. As soon as they expended all of their energy, they would die.

If the base was switched to metallic cells, with their properties, it would be possible to store more information and have more potential for development for a new generation of mythical creature templates. Lu Zhiyu would then be able to become even more powerful. He could even become an eighth ranking legendary wizard after creating a mid-ranked enhanced divine creature!

Compared to the low-ranked enhanced creatures, these divine creatures would have more comprehensive abilities and a stronger lifeforce, when compared to carbon-based lifeforms. Also, their information retention capacity was higher, so even if they were to be trapped in outer space for an endless amount of years, they would not die easily. In fact, they now possessed the remarkable ability to survive all sorts of extreme conditions!

However, Lu Zhiyu was still developing this subject, so it had only been tested on the Sword of the King, which was enhanced based on inspirations that Lu Zhiyu had gained from silicon lifeforms that had evolved into a higher state of life. So far, Lu Zhiyu could not completely understand them, but he was able to grasp some of their characteristics by understanding their structures. Thus, he could use that information to conduct enhancement on metallic cells, which would then allow him to create true mythical alchemy items!

———

The collectd group was about to set off for the Amos Icefield. Stopping at the tavern in Primonius, Lu Zhiyu went to his room and opened his suitcase. The room was dimly lit by an oil lamp.

Lu Zhiyu took out something from the very bottom of the suitcase. It was a longsword that was wrapped up in layers of white cloth.

This was the Sword of the King that Lu Zhiyu had reforged with metallic cells. If it was magnified, the sword's interior structure could be seen to far surpass any ordinary weapon. The remarkable characteristic that these metallic cells held was, in fact, Lu Zhiyu's dream controller life template. The template of the enhanced cells remained unchanged, so it was only the vessel, the Sword of the King, that had been upgraded.

This had been Lu Zhiyu's initial attempt, which was also meant to test the specs and stability of deified metallic cells. After making sure that there were no issues with it, Lu Zhiyu was planning on developing higher state versions of metallic cells, then exploring the mysteries of silicon shell lifeform remains from Earth. He would then attempt to breakthrough to the eighth level of wizardry!

"Enter and close the door."

A knock had sounded on the door. Lu Zhiyu slowly unraveled the white cloth that was surrounding the Sword of the King, revealing the silver longsword. The magnificent sword had an ethereal snow white grip. On both sides of the blade, there were mysterious markings. The name Faross was also engraved on the handle. The entire sword was emanating a clear, soft glow.

As Lu Zhiyu traced along the blade with his finger, he reminisced about the journey through the history of the entire Alen Continent. Within Lu Zhiyu's hands, this sword had a different significance and held endless memories.

This holy sword, after having existed throughout centuries, had been upgraded once more by Lu Zhiyu's hands. Lu Zhiyu planned on giving it to his next chosen king. He had already decided that its new master would be the one who succeeded Ahenaten. Currently, she may be a bit too young and immature, though, and may not be quite ready for the responsibility…

Verthandi peeped her head inside at that very moment. She seemed to have completely forgotten how Lu Zhiyu had just been teasing her. "Dad, what are you being so mysterious about?"

Lu Zhiyu turned around, still holding the Sword of the King in his hand. He looked at Verthandi, his face not wearing its usual easy-going manner, but rather a solemn expression. Verthandi's expression also changed. She had never seen her father like this before.

"What is that?"

Verthandi could now see that Lu Zhiyu was holding a glowing silvery-white sword. She could even see the sigils on it, which were pulsing with a strong and pure power. The mysterious sword's pulsating power engulfed the entire room in a dreamlike glow. Anyone would be able to clearly see that this was no ordinary sword!

Then, the lamplight flickered. In the background, there was a picture of an angel that was descending from above. After being stunned for a bit, Verthandi finally recognized the sword that Lu Zhiyu held.

After all, the sword was too famous an artifact, with so many legends and heavy symbolic meanings, to not recognize it! With the destruction of the Kingdom of Menkaure and the curse of the last King, its was a story that anyone could retell continuously.

No matter whether it be among humans or orcs, the sword carried a holy element and had a sacred place in the hearts of all. In fact, all faiths, as well as the kings of various nations were looking for it, desiring to possess it. Of course, once Verthandi recognized it, her mouth immediately fell open. She was shocked speechless!

Lu Zhiyu looked at Verthandi's amazement, revealed in eyes and her face, then said with a sense of approval, "Kneel."

Verthandi knelt before him, a little confused and hesitant. Then, Lu Zhiyu held out the Sword of the King and recited lightly. "Humility, honesty, empathy, courage, fairness, sacrifice, glory, soul! Be fearless before the strong, resolute and faithful before the divine. Be loyal and upstanding, and go to your death before yielding. Protect the weak and follow the laws of heaven!"

He then turned to look Verthandi in the eyes, asking, "Verthandi, can you do it?"

Verthandi could not believe that Lu Zhiyu was literally standing before her eyes, with the legendary sword within his hand no less! After all, this was the most legendary divine artifact! Her eyes glowed with enthusiasm, as she straightened her back. Even her lowered hands started trembling. "I will engrave this into my heart and never forget it!"

Lu Zhiyu then passed the sword to Verthandi, who was still kneeling. She received it with both hands, calmly and evenly. As soon as Verthandi took the divine sword, Lu Zhiyu slapped her cheek with the back of his hand. It was a very loud and quite painful strike.

"Memorize this pledge!" he ordered.

This marked the completion of the ceremony of knighting and coronation. And, although there were no witnesses to be found within this remote hotel, and the conditions were very shabby, this was still a proper and traditional representation of the expectations that Lu Zhiyu had for her.

After the ceremony, the power of the Sword of the King enveloped her body, releasing a brilliant light throughout the room. The light was so bright and powerful, it could not even be contained by the room. It burst forth from the door cracks, spreading to the outside.

The Sword of the King then became scattered into countless specks of light, which poured into Verthandi's body. Verthandi instantly merged with the longsword, transforming into a half-mythical lifeform. She then floated up into the air, covered in a silvery-white glow.

After a long while, she fell back to the ground, now holding the Sword of the King. She was a bit disoriented, as she drifted out of a daze. She had officially become the complete owner of the sword!

"The right to rule and to heal the nation of God."

Verthandi was quite groggy. She felt as if she was in a dream. "Dad, why was it in your hands? This is the legendary…"

The commotion from before had now attracted attention from outside. Lu Zhiyu immediately remarked. "People are coming! Quick, hide it."

Lu Zhiyu walked towards the door, then turned back to gaze at Verthandi, nodding. "No matter how you choose to use it, I hope you make the choices that you believe are right."

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Chapter 127: The Clan and the Chief

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The closer they got to the Amos Icefield, the colder it became. The snow and ice were permanent fixtures in this northernmost tip of the Alen Continent. Beyond this point, there was only ocean. In the depths of winter, even the sea would freeze completely.

On the edge of the icefield, there lived some orc tribes. They subsisted by gathering the specialties of the region, including the antlers of Amos white deer and the fur of the ice bears. There were fish and shrimp under the ice layer, which were unique to Amos, as well as musk leopards. These were some of the most sought-after goods in all of the orc and human kingdoms.

Elia's caravan would visit the icefield several times per year, in order to trade with the clans. He would bring them food, weapons, clothes and other daily necessities in exchange for their local products. It was an extremely lucrative trade.

It was now late fall, and the Amos Icefield had already descended into wintry weather. Even the borderlands were covered in a thick layer of snow.

The frosty winds sliced the faces of the travelers. Regardless, the caravan proceeded forward, braving the wild. The tracks of the carriages and the horses revealed the mud under the thin veil of snow.

Lu Zhiyu and Verthandi were wrapped tightly in thick fur cloaks. Finally, they saw buildings in the distance. As they approached closer, they saw that they were round buildings, stacked from stone. In fact, it was a little village of a clan!

The round forts were built at the base of a mountain. They rose and fell along its gentle slope, covering the entire valley. The snowy mountain was also dotted with black trees. But right now, the whole scene was dyed in a snowy white. This was the home of the local orc clan.

Elias waved for them to stop, as he saw two young man approaching from the front entrance tower. Soon after, a dozen hunters also approached, gathering together before Elias.

"Hey Elias! I knew it was about time for you to come! What took you so long?" A tall lion-man with golden locks approached and hugged Elias. He thumped his back twice, hard.

The power of his thumps was enough to knock the breath out of a normal person, but Elias was a knight, so he simply returned the favor to the lion-man. As he did so, it sounded as if he was pounding steel with a hammer!

"Hey, Ibu! I haven't seen you in months. You seem to have gotten weaker. This time, I have brought you a lot of good things."

"Haha, then I will have a good look at them later. Our young hunters also got us a great harvest, but it pales in comparison to last year's, due to the other tribes and that evil dragon within the Icefield! We're lucky to have you, or else our tribe would find this winter unbearable."

The lion-man Ibu sighed and waved his hand. "Never mind with these troubles of mine. Let's head inside and welcome our friends."

This was a large orc tribe with tens of thousands of members. The caravan moved into this tribe, which was based at the foot of the mountain. Many orc children were watching them, as mothers and the elderly also came to spectate the arrival of these visitors and their goods that they brought. All of the villagers' eyes were glittering with hope.

It could be clearly seen that a lot of the youth were wounded. It seemed as if this clan had recently been involved in an intense battle, which had caused all of the young people to walk away with injuries. Also, all of the children seemed sickly and weak, as if they had not eaten in a long time.

Unlike the orc tribes that Lu Zhiyu had seen before, this one was made up of completely different orc races. Specifically, the tribe was composed of lion-people, minotaurs, faun and even some boar-people.

This kind of harmony between different races in a single clan was very rare. This was not a major cultural center of a major kingdom. Here, the competition between each tribe was generally very intense, which meant that they were usually prone to war. As such, most of them relied on race and blood ties to hold their clans together.

Verthandi seemed to like it here quite a bit. She dismounted, then quickly passed two pastries to a gaunt little lion-boy. After the child took it, she lifted him up in a great big hug. It seemed that the little boy really liked her, perhaps because they were of the same race.

"Where are your parents?" she asked.

The little hand holding the cake stopped in mid-air. The little boy's eyes then became teary and red. Verthandi immediately knew the answer.

The caravan started settling down, as Lu Zhiyu, Verthandi, and Elias entered the largest building. Each of the buildings looked like a mini-fortress, resulting in the entire village's looking like the staggered mesh of a beast's fangs.

If an enemy tried to invade them, it would be easy to surround them and retaliate from within the safety of these forts, the logistics of which made killing the enemies from the roofs or the windows effortless. This was a common structural setup for orc clans.

Inside, the food was already prepared. Elias and Chief Ibu chatted for awhile, then Lu Zhiyu was introduced to Chief Ibu by Elias. "This is baron Randhir Eranbell and his son Will. They are my old friends. Guess what they are here for?"

Lu Zhiyu and Verthandi nodded lightly to Ibu, who scrunched up his face, while looking at Elias. "They can't have sent more people to come deal with the dragon, right?"

Elias shrugged his shoulders, then nodded. Ibu stood to his full height, showing a physique that could kill a cow with a single punch. "You want to defeat the dragon with just the two of you? Have you ever seen a dragon before? Do you know how terribly powerful it is?"

Lu Zhiyu smiled, then said, "We are very eager to see it!"

Ibu slammed the table in anger. "I'm afraid that you won't be able to. You'll perish on the Icefield. You have no idea how harsh of an environment it is. The evil dragon is also extremely sly. It is quite smart, maybe even smarter than most of us. We have tried countless times to find its lair, yet we have only returned in defeat."

"Several times, we even designed traps to kill it, but all of them failed, leaving us with a high price to pay. It will seek revenge. I've seen many idiots, like you two, who rush blindly into the Icefield. Not a single one has returned alive.."

At last, Ibu looked Lu Zhiyu dead in the eyes. "I'm telling you, go back right now with your son. Don't be stupid."

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Chapter 128: Dragonslaying Squad

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The inside of the Chief's fort was lit by bonfires, and a feast of food was arranged on every table. All of the important individuals of the clan were there, along with Elias, his son, and the higher-ups of the caravan.

All of them were enjoying the feast, but at that moment, their eyes were at the center of the ringed fort. There, a fierce battle was taking place. Standing on each side, were dozens of defeated youth from the tribe.

"Peng!"

Verthandi used the sheathed Sword of the King to knock the tall Chief Ibu, sending him flying with a single sweep. All of the people within the fortress looked at the tiny knight in shock and awe. No one thought that this tiny knight, who looked so thin and weak, could easily defeat the strongest warrior of their tribe, without even unsheathing a sword!

Ibu rushed at Verthandi in a rage. He lifted his huge warhammer, but Verthandi easily deflected his attacks, striking the warhammer and sending it flying.

Lu Zhiyu walked up, effortlessly catching the handle of the gigantic warhammer. It was so huge, it could smash the skulls of elephants!

The hammer had been flying with a great force, yet Lu Zhiyu caught it effortlessly. He then gave it a twirl, while taking a bite from the leg of lamb that he held in his other hand.

He joked with a laugh. "Chief, your hammer."

Ibu was both embarrassed and enraged. He did not think he would be defeated so easily. The other side didn't even send out their strongest fighters! He could not defeat this son, even with all of his strength, and even after shamefully sending out many warriors against a single person in the rounds!

Verthandi took back her sword, looking at Ibu proudly. "I have won. I hope you will do as you promised, allowing us to stay here temporarily and assisting our efforts to slay the dragon."

Ibu flushed as he stood. After grabbing the hammer back, he looked at Verthandi. After looking her up and down, his eyes glittered with respect and approval.

"I recognize that you are very strong, but that is useless. You do not understand what you are up against. This is a huge dragon that is dozens of meters long. Standing before him, you are only a weak little mouse. It can easily tear through your guard, while the attacks you are so proud of will be completely useless against it," Ibu warned.

Verthandi lifted her head, unphased. "Evil must be punished!"

Ibu responded seriously. "Do you think that we don't also want to get rid of the evil dragon? Yet, no one can do it, at least no mortal. You don't know, but many of our youth have already become its food. It has even demanded that I provide it will treasures and sacrifices every month. Otherwise, it will flatten our tribe and kill us all."

After Chief Ibu's words, the rowdy feast was instantly silenced. All of the people's eyes were filled with fear and hatred. They had already lost too many people, yet they could not do anything about the evil dragon. They feared the godly power that it possessed.

"Sacrifice? What sacrifice?"

Verthandi looked around, confused. She saw the women and children sobbing silently. Then, suddenly realizing the significance of it all, she looked Ibu dead in the eye with disbelief and rage. "You're actually providing it with sacrifices? You're sacrificing your own tribe to the evil dragon?!"

Chief Ibu howled in rage. "You think I want to? But what choice do I have? We have to survive! The tribe has to continue. I am responsible for all the lives inside this tribe. Unlike you, with all of your pretty words, to us, this is survival, and this is fate!"

Elias approached from the side. "Ibu has not offered his own people to the dragon. Instead, he has offered the orcs of other tribes."

Verthandi finally understood why so many tribesmen were injured, and why there was so much sadness in the village. Even the children were going hungry. Verthandi looked at Elias, then turned her head to look back at Ibu. "So, by sacrificing the lives of orcs from other tribes, your heart can be at ease?"

Verthandi kicked out the bonfire at the center of the fort, scattering the sparks far and wide. "I cannot accept this!"

Verthandi stormed out of the fort. The wind was mostly blocked from reaching the valley, but it was still quite a chilly night, especially since a blanket of white snow was floating through the skies.

Lu Zhiyu walked out of the fort and spotted Verthandi by the water tower just above it.

"What is it? Are you angry?" he asked her.

From here, they could see the entire tribe, as well as the whole valley. It was a very primitive clan, and without the bustling scene of a large city, this place in which they lived was quite simple and pure. Every single ring fort, every single lit place, represented a family.

Verthandi lowered her head. "I'm not angry. What Chief Ibu did was correct. He was very responsible and protected his tribe. He is a true hero. I am, as he said, just a person full of pretty words."

Lu Zhiyu looked at Verthandi. "So?"

Verthandi looked at the entire clan, remembering the faces that she encountered. Visions of all of the cute children, the diligent women, the youths returning from their hunts, all the children who had lost their parents, all the wives who had lost their husbands, as well as all the elderly who were alone in this snowy winter filled her mind.

Verthandi then stood up. "I have decided, I must slay this wicked dragon!"

Verthandi looked into Lu Zhiyu's eyes. Beneath the short golden fringe of hair was a delicate face with sharp brows and a stubborn expression. "I must do this not for glory, nor to be a hero, but to protect others and to listen to my own heart."

Lu Zhiyu felt that a dramatic transformation had occurred within Verthandi. Never again would she be the clumsy little trouble that he once knew, who would yell about becoming a knight. Now, she would embrace the hero she knew that she would be since she was a child, the Verthandi that wanted bards to sing of her legends!

Lu Zhiyu smiled and started reciting. "Be fearless before the strong, resolute and faithful before the divine. Be loyal and upstanding, and go to death before yielding. Protect the weak, and follow the laws of heaven!"

Halfway through the verse, Verthandi joined in. After finishing the pledge, Lu Zhiyu nodded. "You will become a true knight, or maybe even a true king."

A shadow emerged from behind them. Lu Zhiyu saw a human youth, who he identified as one of Elias's guards.

"Hello, I am Allen. Can I join you? I also wish to join the Dragonslaying team."

The two turned around to see a solemn youth with brown hair. Verthandi stood, excited. "Of course! We welcome you! What are your skills?"

Allen replied hastily. "I can set traps, and my swordsmanship isn't bad. I'm also good at tracking and hiding my presence. Trust me, I will definitely be a helpful companion."

Lu Zhiyu looked at Allen curiously. "Why did you choose us? As you know, most people believe that we are foolishly courting death."

Allen looked at them. "Risk and opportunity always co-exist. To me, this is a very important chance. I have something that I must accomplish, so I welcome this risk. I also have a feeling that you two will succeed."

Lu Zhiyu stood up and patted Allen on the back. "Welcome then. But, I must tell you that this time, the only one heading there to slay the dragon is the wee knight."

Allen was dumbfounded, as he looked between Verthandi and Lu Zhiyu. Verthandi also could not believe her father. "Dad, aren't you going with me?"

Lu Zhiyu shrugged. "Of course not, why would I? I wasn't the one who took down the King's bounty posting!"

A few days later, at dawn, the entire dragonslaying team was packed, ready to depart with Verthandi and Allen. And, although Ibu still said that Verthandi was being reckless, he also joined the team. Other than that, there was also a minotaur named Tiridan. The four of them formed a squad, then embarked on the dragonslaying expedition.

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