Lin Li ordered an immediate return after getting on board of The Star. The massive ship crushed the surrounding ice as it started to operate. The sailors steered it in the direction of Four Seasons Island.
The people from the Gilded Kingdom only surfaced from the pit of the gigantic hole at the heart of Ice Island three days after The Star left the island. Edmund could sense that Lin Li was not on Ice Island anymore. Hence, he did not try to find Lin Li, but let his men slowly ride the airship towards where they came from.
Yes, you did not read it wrongly—they were certainly moving at the slowest speed. This airship that Lin Li left for them was only a sample that was built out of interest. It was definitely worse than the airships built by goblins. To make things worse, this was an airship that had no motor compartment. Hence, it had to rely on human labor to operate. The mages had to constantly input their mana to let the airship move in the sky.
“Saint Edmund,” Elder Zumar called out to Edmund outside his cabin. He had suffered less injuries than Edmund, and had fully recovered after a few days of rest. He suddenly thought of a problem that they had neglected.
Although Edmund was more powerful than Elder Zumar, the interruption caused by Poer’s sneak attack created a backlash on his mental strength and soul when he was conducting the ritual to retrieve the holy artifact. While it was not easy for one to subject their mental strength and soul to attacks, it would become a real problem if one were to injure them. Hence, Edmund chose a cabin to concentrate on recovering his injuries immediately after boarding the airship.
Edmund woke up from his meditation when he heard Elder Zumar’s voice. “Come in,” responded Edmund as he opened his eyes slowly.
Elder Zumar entered with a forlorn expression. He was completely devoid of the excitement he had after they accomplished the mission.
Edmund could not help but feel surprised when he saw Elder Zumar’s expression. Now that they had accomplished their mission, had President Felic’s promise to help them speed up the resurrection of Lord Aquilo, and were also on their way back, what could be troubling Zumar again?
“Zumar, are you facing any issue with the recovery from your injuries?” asked Edmund. The only thing that Edmund could imagine would trouble Zumar was about his recovery. After all, High Priest Poer entered the peak of the Sanctuary-realm with the help of the power from the Eye of Light, and his powers greatly surpassed Elder Zumar’s. He thought that there were still complications in the injuries Zumar had gotten from Poer.
However, Zumar shook his head after hearing Edmund’s question. “Saint Edmund, do you still remember the message that Poer sent back to the Illuminati when we first met President Felic from the Tower of Dusk?” asked Zumar.
“What did you say? Damn it, how could I forget this!” exclaimed Edmund as he sprang from his seat, and started pacing around the space. “That bastard! I was still feeling relieved that we would not ever have to deal with any troubles caused by him ever again. How could I let that slip my mind?”
To say the truth, Edmund had definitely not been sincere in his initial partnership with the Tower of Dusk. He had felt threatened by Lin Li’s ability and wanted to treat the Tower as his cannon fodder, and leave all of them there forever. He had not expected there to be so many happenings that would change his perspective of the Tower of Dusk.
Because of that, he had been turning a blind eye to all the tricks that High Priest Poer had plotted against the Tower of Dusk as long as it would not trigger a direct confrontation. After all, the people from the Tower of Dusk had been as good as dead to Edmund. He certainly had not minded when Poer had not reported any information back.
As a result, he had not managed to curb Poer’s growing ambition. Poer had become susceptible to the God of Light’s temptation, and turned into his servant. They even had had to get help from Lin Li to stop Poer. Then, the hopes of speeding up Aquilo’s resurrection had fallen upon Lin Li, and the relationship between both of the forces had taken a turn too. Edmund could not believe that he would have forgotten about Poer’s disastrous actions if not for Zumar’s reminder.
“I doubt the people in the Gilded Kingdom would stir any trouble. I remember Poer’s son has already been removed from his position as the commander of the Fifth Fleet, and is now reflecting on his actions at home. Even if Poer managed to send that message out, I don’t think his useless son would be able to do anything about it,” Edmund spoke after some time. It was as if he was trying to convince himself about this possibility.
“I think we should still hurry back. Otherwise, I’m afraid that the people there would really create a huge problem for us,” suggested Elder Zumar. Although he agreed with Edmund’s idea, Zumar believed that it would be safer for him to return to Four Seasons Island as soon as possible.
“Alright. Since we do not have any other matters here, let’s head back to Four Seasons Island once we get on the ship,” agreed Edmund as he nodded.
However, Edmund and Zumar saw a depressing sight when the airship brought them to the place where the Gilded Kingdom had docked their ships. Their battleships had turned into ice sculptures, and from the aura that the sculptures emitted, they could tell that they were the work of the Ice Phoenix.
Their trip back would become more troublesome without the ships. It was impossible for them to fly back to Four Seasons Island as they had yet to fully recover from their injuries. They were glad to have Lin Li’s airship. If not, they could only get stalled until the two Sanctuary powerhouses recovered from their injuries.
However, the speed of this airship was absolutely frustrating. It was like a cloud that was floating extremely slowly in the sky. Only God knew when they would float back to Four Seasons Island. Perhaps it would not even happen after Edmund and Zumar recovered from their injuries.
Just when Edmund and Zumar were worrying about the message that Poer had sent back to Four Seasons Island, two young men were sitting in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom on Four Seasons Island, sipping wine while enjoying the dance performed by a group of gorgeous dancers.
“Brother Cantory, I doubt the fella from the Tower of Dusk will be able to return. Why can’t we do anything to the people we have caught?”
That was the beloved son of High Priest Poer, Delano. His father’s departure had returned him his freedom to do whatever he liked. As long as he kept a low profile and did not let His Majesty know of his activities, he was basically as free as ever.
Cantory smiled gently when he heard Delano’s impatient question. He put down his wine glass, and said, “What’s your hurry? Since that Felic fella is not going to be back, aren’t their people naturally at our disposal? But, the people from the Breezy Plains had yet to believe this news. We can only wait for your father’s return to extinguish their hopes fully.”
“Why don’t we get rid of the people from the Breezy Plains together with them? Aren’t they merely Legendary powerhouses? How big of an issue would that make? Brother, even if you are not willing to mobilize the Illuminati for that, I can easily do it with the connections I have in the kingdom,” replied Delano disdainfully. He was slightly drunk, and was too lazy to weigh any consequences. He only wanted to eliminate all his enemies to avenge his wounded pride. It did not help that he was someone brainless in nature.
“Delano, can you use your brains more often? That fella from the Tower of Dusk has already died on the cursed island. He has nothing to do with us. I’m also certain that there would not be a good ending for the people he had left here for their offense against the noble prince of this kingdom. As for the people from the Breezy Plains, each of them is backed by massive organizations. It will only be beneficial for us to convince them to join our camp,” said Cantory after he gestured to send the dancers away. He was definitely more meticulous than Delano.
Delano was slightly awakened by Cantory’s reprimand, but while he was not convinced, he did not dare to show it. Although he had a high status in the kingdom for being the son of the kingdom’s high priest, his status was definitely lacking as compared to Cantory who was the candidate for the Illuminati’s next lord.
Cantory knew that it would not make sense for him to include such a fop in any conspiracy. Hence, he only warned Delano not to spoil his plans, and did not care to make any explanation. “Alright, you just keep your hands out of this matter, you will be able to seek your revenge one day. You have to return now. I would be punished if His Majesty were to know of our meeting,” said Cantory.
“Haha! Brother Cantory, you have to be joking. You are the lord of Illuminati. Even the king has to be polite to you. How would he punish you? Well, I will return then. Felic is definitely an unfortunate fella! He can’t even see the end of his men now,” said Delano as he stumbled out of the door.
Although Cantory looked down on Delano, he was rather gleeful when he heard Delano refer to him as the lord. As a successful disciple of the Illuminati and a savior by prophecy, Cantory was certain that he was the only one who had the right to be the next lord.
In reality, Cantory was indifferent to the news that Delano shared with him. So what if it was impossible for Felic from the Tower of Dusk to return to this place? The people from the Tower that he left behind were only ants with level-15 abilities. There was no need to waste his efforts on them.
He only had to find some trash with the title of a prince to accuse the ants of committing a lèse-majesté. He believed that helping Delano retaliate against the Tower would help him gain an extra layer of insurance if he had the support from High Priest Poer to help him rise to the seat as the next lord of the Illuminati.
What really mattered to Cantory were the representatives from the Breezy Plains. If he could win them over, he would be able to strengthen his support base and put the Illuminati and Gilded Kingdom in a good light. Hence, what he needed was not to think about how he could deal with the people from the Tower of Dusk, but to convince the representatives from the Breezy Plains of the fall of the Tower.
At the same time, a massive behemoth came speeding over from the northern part of Four Seasons Island. It was traveling in the ocean at a speed that did not match its size. Its name, The Star, that was painted on the body of the ship was clearly visible to the small ships around it.
After leaving the mysterious part of the sea, The Star traveled at full speed for three to four days. They finally saw the silhouette of Four Seasons Island from afar. When they first got there, they used a dozen days to travel in the region just to locate Ice Island. Now that they were returning, they only had to move in a single direction towards where they came from. Naturally, the return trip was much faster.
Soon, The Star entered the crowded Helena Port under the amazement of countless people. Yet, Lin Li did not bring his men down the ship. Instead, he opened an alternative dimension in the pilothouse, and led his men through the crack in space. They returned to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk at the Gilded Kingdom.
However, just when Lin Li passed through the crack and stepped into the embassy, a figure came rushing at him. It was Prince Jeremiah of the Ledin Kingdom.
“President Felic, why are you only back now? Trouble’s huge!” exclaimed Jeremiah. He was holding a few nautical reports that were from Lin Li’s room. He definitely did not come here to wait for Lin Li’s return.
Lin Li recognized the items in Jeremiah’s hands immediately, but he did not take it to heart. Since he chose to leave the items in his room, they were definitely not treasures to him. However, one’s man trash might be another’s treasure. Those items were of some value to a nautical rookie like Jeremiah.
Hence, Lin Li pretended not to see the items the prince was holding. “Oh, it’s Prince Jeremiah. I didn’t expect that you would be the first one I met when I arrived. But, what trouble were you talking about? What happened?”
Jeremiah initially felt rather embarrassed when he saw Lin Li here. After all, his actions were akin to thieving. He only felt much better when he realized that Lin Li did not take the matter to heart.
“President Felic, why weren’t you contactable for the past several weeks? Your men were arrested by the people from the Gilded Kingdom in your absence!” cried Jeremiah anxiously.
