Chapter 432: The Crisis Arrives

Chapter 432: The Crisis Arrives

King Marchel learned that the Cardinal of the Temple of Light was coming to the Kingdom of Marchel.

He immediately summoned all the forces within the city to line the streets and welcome him with honor.

Cardinal Minos had just arrived at the Temple of Light in the royal city of King Marchel.

The bishops of the temple were preparing to step forward and greet him,

when he suddenly turned his head sharply toward one direction.

His gaze was somewhat frightening.

He sensed fluctuations from the Tears of the Goddess, but those fluctuations were rapidly weakening—

something that had never happened before.

This meant the power of the Tears of the Goddess was gradually vanishing.

That was a sacred artifact of the Temple of Light!

Who could have committed such an act of unspeakable blasphemy?

Minos frowned deeply, said not a word, and vanished directly from within the Temple of Light,

leaving behind the bishops and clergy who had been preparing a grand reception, standing there dumbfounded.

After a while, King Marchel hurriedly arrived at the Temple of Light.

He quickly asked in a low voice, “Where is His Eminence the Cardinal?”

The bishop’s expression was complicated as he shook his head and replied, “He has left.”

“Left!?” King Marchel couldn’t help but exclaim in disbelief.

How could he be gone already? He hadn’t even seen him yet!

Seeing the king’s confused look, the bishop explained, “His Eminence must have encountered some urgent matter.”

Upon hearing this, King Marchel could only let out a helpless sigh,

turned around, and left.

As he stepped out of the Temple of Light and saw the elaborate welcoming formations outside,

his enthusiasm waned.

After the disappointment came a sharp pang of pain in his heart.

All of this had cost a fortune!

The Kingdom of Marchel had long been locked in constant friction with the Northern Xuan Kingdom.

There had been no shortage of battles, large or small, each day burning through money.

What he had prepared today for the grand ceremony—just the gold bridges alone—

would probably cover the costs of a month’s worth of warfare on the frontlines.

And yet, the finances of the Kingdom of Marchel were already stretched thin.

Wasting an entire month’s military expenditure like this was another massive blow to the kingdom.

Things on the front would likely get even worse.

He had hoped that after meeting Cardinal Minos, he might ask the Temple of Light for some support.

If the Temple would just lend a little aid, it would be easy to resolve the persistent threat posed by the Northern Xuan Kingdom.

But now, he hadn’t even laid eyes on Minos.

A whole month’s military budget wasted for nothing.

Meanwhile, Minos rushed swiftly toward the location where the power of the Tears of the Goddess had vanished.

Once the power disappeared, he could only lock onto its approximate location.

But with his strength, even a rough idea was enough to find his target.

The Mages’ Guild received news of abnormal activity in the Secret Realm of Dragonfall Slope.

They dispatched people immediately to investigate.

It so happened they ran into personnel sent by Oth to scout the area.

Lox had ordered Oth to verify whether the dragon crash at Dragonfall Slope was real.

Oth had sent his subordinates to investigate.

When the two sides met,

the Mages’ Guild, under the pretense of sealing off Dragonfall Slope, tried to drive away unrelated individuals.

“We are the Northern Xuan Dark Guard, sent by our sovereign to investigate Dragonfall Slope,”

the newcomers declared, presenting their identification tokens.

The Northern Xuan Dark Guard—a new organization established after the founding of the Northern Xuan Kingdom.

Its members were all powerful supernatural professionals loyal to Oth.

The mages investigating Dragonfall Slope glanced over the group and were startled.

Every single one of them was a third-tier supernatural professional.

Their leader was even a fourth-tier practitioner.

If a fight broke out, the Mages’ Guild wouldn’t come out on top.

And what’s more—they served Oth.

That made them even harder to offend.

Among those sent by the Mages’ Guild, only two were third-tier mages; the rest were first- or second-tier.

They were utterly outmatched by the Northern Xuan Dark Guard squad.

Even though mages typically dominated other professions of the same tier,

the difference in levels was insurmountable—first- and second-tier mages stood no chance against third-tier supernatural beings.

James, the leader of the Mages’ Guild delegation, quickly spoke up.

“Oh, you’re the Northern Xuan Dark Guard? My apologies for the misunderstanding.”

“If there’s anything we can assist with, please don’t hesitate to say so—we’ll do our best.”

James offered his courtesy,

but the other side didn’t bother returning it.

Captain Susan of the Northern Xuan Dark Guard replied,

“In that case, Master Mage James, please tell us everything you know about Dragonfall Slope. We need to report back to His Majesty.”

Hearing this, James’s face stiffened slightly.

You really aren’t holding back, are you?

He looked at Susan’s stern expression and sighed inwardly.

“What exactly do you want to know?” he asked.

Susan replied, “Let’s start with the legend of Dragonfall Slope. Did a dragon truly crash there?”

James answered Susan's question.

Back and forth they went, their exchange dragging on a bit too long.

It made James feel somewhat impatient.

Finally, Susan asked, “What brings you here today?”

James replied, “Someone discovered that the secret realm at Dragonfall Slope has opened. We came to see what’s going on.”

Upon hearing this, Susan’s gaze sharpened.

She issued an order: “Seal off Dragonfall Slope. No unauthorized personnel in or out.”

“As you command.”

Susan turned to James and said, “I must ask Mage James for help in opening the secret realm.”

James frowned.

“I cannot open it. We can only wait for the realm to reveal itself naturally.”

No sooner had he spoken than a spatial rift suddenly tore open at a spot on Dragonfall Slope.

It began pulling everything nearby into its depths.

After a moment, the rift stabilized, and scenes from within the secret realm spilled outward.

A figure stepped out from inside.

Levi froze upon seeing the situation outside.

What was going on?

“Shall I come out and help?”

Sainte’s voice echoed in Levi’s mind.

He quickly responded, “Don’t you dare come out. If you do, things will get even more chaotic.”

A living sacred dragon hatchling appearing before so many people—

That would surely cause an uproar like nothing seen before.

Levi couldn’t possibly kill everyone present.

Nor did he possess any spell to erase memories.

In this era when dragons had long hidden themselves from the world, Sainte absolutely could not be exposed.

The tear in space Levi had created using his Spatial Rending Technique was unstable.

It soon began to contract and vanish.

Levi took a few steps forward, moving away from the collapsing rift.

All eyes followed him as he moved.

He offered a gentle smile and asked, “My apologies for the abrupt appearance. I’ll be leaving now and won’t disturb you further.”

Seeing the scene unfold, he assumed someone was ambushing members of the Mages’ Guild.

And Levi had no intention of getting involved.

When Susan heard Levi intended to leave, she immediately shouted, “Halt!”

Levi turned toward her voice.

His eyes fell upon the person standing behind her, and surprise flickered across his face.

“Alya?”

At the sound of his voice, Alya—who stood behind Susan—paused briefly, then looked up carefully at Levi.

Her expression shifted to one of astonishment. “Levi?”

Susan and James both turned to look at Levi upon hearing the name.

James, recognizing Levi’s face, finally recalled having met him once before.

Susan, however, furrowed her brow. “So you’re Levi?”

She had heard that Rena and Levi were close.

Before becoming a Northern Mystdark Guard, Susan and Rena had been classmates—and best friends—at the Knight Academy.

(End of Chapter)