Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
North, Black Forest
In the dark forest, a beam of green light shot between the black pine trees. He was impossibly fast, crossing thousands of feet within a second. Half an hour later, he’d broken out of the Dark Forest and was in the icy wintry world of the North.
Here, he continued northward. Five minutes later, a giant fortress made purely from bones appeared before him. This was the darkest and most terrifying structure in the North—Skeletal Fort.
Once, this was the residency of the Dark Serpent’s first owner. Now, it had become the camp of the Army of Destruction.
When the green light was around six miles away from the Skeletal Fort, two Level-9 four-winged fallen angels flew up to meet it on either side. Their spears formed a cross in the sky. One cackled coldly. “High Elf, flying is forbidden here. Descend if you want to live!”
The green light immediately turned in the air and landed obediently, transforming back into human form. It was an elder with white hair—the Prophet, Bryant.
Standing in the snow, he said, “I asked to see Holy Priest Molina. I believe she knows that I am here.”
The two four-winged fallen angels also landed. The one that had spoken before continued, “Priest Molina has told us. Follow me.”
With that, the two fallen angels turned to lead Bryant. They didn’t go to Skeletal Fort though. Instead, they turned left and walked towards a small wooden building on a hill.
Bryant didn’t say anything. He pulled his bearskin cloak tighter around him and followed.
When they reached the building, the two fallen angels stood on either side of the door. At the same time, the door creaked open by itself.
Bryant walked in. There was a large room with a fireplace warming up the place. Naga priest Molina stood quietly inside the room. Her brows were slightly furrowed as if there was a troubling matter.
Hearing the noise, she turned around. Seeing Bryant, the worry disappeared, and she smiled. “My apologies for the simple conditions. Please bear with it.”
“No problem.” Bryant found a warm corner near the fireplace to stand. He looked down at the dancing flames and said, “You seem to have something on your mind.”
Molina smiled bitterly. “You must know what happened. Katyusha is in Ferde’s hands now. I can sense that she isn’t dead yet, but she is in danger. Ferde seems to want to control her soul.”
Bryant wasn’t surprised. Since Link dared to kill Ariel, controlling Katyusha’s soul wasn’t too much for him. Those Magicians of Ferde dared to do anything behind the scenes.
He nodded. “The Isle of Dawn suffered great losses too. Princess Ariel was murdered. Our queen views the Ferde lord as the biggest enemy now. We prepare to support your army.”
“I am sorry for your misfortune. However, I must say that our cooperation isn’t enough. You supplied various types of magic equipment, alchemy, and potions, which is good, but we need Magicians the most. The more, the better. You have so many Magicians but won’t even send one over to help. This is insincere.”
“Indeed.” Bryant actually nodded in agreement, but then he changed his tone. “This is in the past. Soon, we will send at least 1000 Magicians, all above Level-6.”
“One thousand? Ha, it seems that the Isle of Dawn is really sacrificing a lot.” Molina twisted her boneless body and walked to the fireplace. She stoked it with a rod, saying lightly, “To be honest, 1000 isn’t enough. It’s like placating some beggars. Everyone in Firuman knows what the Isle of Dawn thinks. If you want me to help you fight Ferde, 1000 Magicians isn’t enough. I need to add another condition.”
“Yes?”
“Help us rescue Katyusha and get the Spear of Victory back. If you succeed, we can continue cooperating. If you can’t, it’s over. If any High Elf dares to enter the Black Forest after that, not only will we attack, we’ll spread the news all over the mainland. I’d like to see if the humans would still buy your magic equipment!”
After that, Molina stoked the fire casually, patiently waiting for Bryant’s response.
Crackle, pop. The fire crackled lightly. Under Molina’s movements, sparks flew. Gradually, a human face appeared from the red flames.
Not only that, the face’s mouth opened and a low raspy voice said, “Molina, this is the one you said you would cooperate with?”
The voice was very strange. Just hearing it shook one’s mind, making one feel uncontrollable. The voice seemed to represent boundless and endless darkness.
Standing in the corner, Bryant inhaled sharply when he heard the voice and subconsciously uttered, “Nozama, Lord of the Deep.”
Nozama, Lord of the Deep, was at the pinnacle of Level-19. One step away from entering the godly level, he was the most powerful of all mortals.
He was always watching Firuman. Throughout history, he’d activated tides of darkness into Firuman many times. It could be said that he was the one responsible for the wild tide two years ago.
Three hundred years ago, Bryant had personally faced Tarviss, the Legendary demon that Nozama had sent. During the battle, Bryant had met Nozama’s projection into Firuman. That meeting had shattered Bryant’s hopes and was the major reason that pushed him to join the Isle of Dawn.
The face in the fireplaces moved and cackled. “You still remember me. You have a good memory, but you just won’t improve your skills. After so many years, you’re still only at Level-12. Not fun, so not fun.”
Bryant was angry too and couldn’t help but say, “You’re the same. Three hundred years ago, you reached the Legendary Pinnacle, but you’re still there. Why didn’t you improve? I guess you’ll never see the mysteries of the divine territory. Just die from an old death in the Abyss.”
“You…Haha, you have a smart mouth, but you’re right. We shouldn’t laugh at each other. We’re both failures.” Nozama laughed easily. Despite the flying sparks that crackled and popped, he wasn’t angry at all.
Seeing that the two were about to fight, Molina interrupted, “Gentlemen, don’t forget what we must discuss. We must rescue Katyusha and take back the Spear of Victory!”
“Oh, alright.” The fiery face moved and two eyes made of black coal turned to Bryant. “I’m not familiar with the current Firuman. What ideas do you have?”
Bryant shook his head. “I don’t have ideas. I can’t do it, and you can’t do it. Ferde’s power is beyond our imagination. The lord is terrifying… I don’t know what level he is now, but I’m definitely not his match.”
“Oh…” A sigh came from the fireplace. Then there was a huge explosion. Flames flew in all directions, splattering across the room.
“That bastard took my daughter and my other daughter is missing too. If I get my hands on him, I’ll turn his soul into a candle and light it for a thousand years!”
Bryant scoffed. He patted off the dust on him and mocked, “It’s useless to lose your temper in the Abyss. Think of a way to deal with him.”
The fireplace calmed instantly. After a while, the remaining fire formed another face. It could be seen that Nozama had composed himself. His coal eyes turned to Naga Priest Molina.
“I don’t have any solutions unless you can think of a way for me to enter Firuman without any damage to my power. Otherwise, we can only watch that proud little bastard.”
Molina actually did have an idea. A runestone appeared in her hand. Chaotic dark red aura wrapped around the runestone. As soon as it appeared, all light in the room turned dark red. Under it, the yellow fire turned the room a bloody red color.
This time, even Nozama was shocked. “This is…the Sacred Rune of Destruction?”
Molina nodded. “Indeed. There is only one use for this sacred rune—restriction of time. After activation, everything within two miles will be frozen in time. The stronger the power that is frozen, the shorter the duration. Judging from the conditions in Ferde, it can freeze time for one second.
“One second? That’s too short!” Bryant frowned. The sacred rune was indeed powerful. One second gave them the chance to rescue Katyusha, but after that second, they could even lose their own lives if they messed up afterward.
But Nozama nodded. “One second? Not bad, not bad. A god is truly powerful. Here, make a portal door, and I’ll send my last daughter over. She will be powerful enough to help you rescue the person. If there’s a chance, kill that Link boy too and give me his soul. I need a candle!”
“Thank you.” Molina nodded.
As soon as she finished, the fiery face disappeared. Nozama’s conscience left too. Molina turned to Bryant. “The Isle of Dawn and Ferde haven’t declared war yet. You should be able to get close to Ferde’s core, right?”
“What a f*cked up mission!” Bryant swore, but he still agreed. “Wrap up the sacred rune. Don’t make it so obvious. It’s best if you use some sacred spell. I don’t want any accidents!”
