Chapter 453: The Prince Arrives Again

Mephisto, as an Archmage who had once surpassed his rank, had long ago captured a level-nine undead creature.

Yet, bound by the limits of his strength in his regular form, he had been unable to summon the bone bear.

This time, had it not been for the insufficient number of sacrifices slain, he would not have resorted to swallowing the Witch-Soul Bead for self-preservation.

He had originally intended to thrash Ronin and trample Ruidar with the bone bear after advancing, never expecting that this undead creature would return to its eternal rest before even finishing its signature pose upon its entry.

Mephisto fell into a state of profound self-doubt; was this truly a level-nine creature?

Ronin slowly descended to the ground, his feet stepping upon the withered bones of the bear, as the attribute panel materialized before his eyes.

At this moment, he possessed 10,009 attribute points and 20,000 energy essences!

The last time he had been this wealthy was when he completed the final tier of Velora's quest to earn the achievement of Rolling in Wealth.

No longer hesitating, he allocated 4,749 attribute points into his Grand Mage progress.

In an instant, Ronin broke through the consciousness wheel of a knight and the aura wheel of a mage, his spiritual energy and physical stamina surging at a breakneck speed.

Concurrently, a faint trace of the world's will bestowed its blessing upon him.

"This is!"

Mephisto trembled violently as he sensed an obscure yet unfathomable fluctuation radiating from Ronin—the exact omen of becoming a Blazing Sun Knight and a Grand Mage simultaneously!

This young man before him had actually advanced in the midst of battle?

How could this be possible!

Ruidar perceived this change as well, his heart filled with immense envy.

This blessing of the world's will was a slight, secondary reinforcement on top of the breakthrough itself.

Presumably because he was reclaiming his past-life strength, no such world's will had descended when he broke through a while ago.

Even when Mephisto before him had advanced, there had been none either.

Ronin sensed the transformations after his advancement.

He felt not only his strength skyrocketing but also himself becoming more harmonized with this world after receiving the reinforcement of the world's will.

Closing his eyes, aside from perceiving elemental power, he could discern what seemed to be a purer, mightier ocean of energy existing above the elements.

Though no one told him what this ocean of energy was, enlightenment dawned upon him—this was the power of primal origin.

Furthermore, he no longer even needed to use the Wind of Perception; by relying solely on his spiritual power, he could sense the state of all living beings within a three-mile radius.

Previously, he could project his spiritual power and even manipulate objects with it, but such a phenomenon had never occurred before.

"Truly marvelous."

Returning his consciousness, Ronin glanced at the remaining 5,260 attribute points on the panel, and considering the utility of spiritual power along with his recent magical research with Sophia, he chose a distribution heavily favored toward the path of a mage.

[Level]: 9-Blazing Sun Knight (2260/20000); 9-Grand Mage (3000/30000)

He opened his eyes, a satisfied smile playing at the corners of his lips.

At last, he stood at the absolute pinnacle of power on the Orland Continent.

He was uncertain whether the Kingdom of Tricia possessed any level-nine transcendents, but in the Kingdom of Auduin, it seemed that apart from himself and Ruidar, there was only Velora Silva.

Oh, he had miscalculated; there was also Mephisto before him, though this man would soon cease to exist.

"You..."

Mephisto took a step back, his already pallid skin turning ghastly pale.

"What do you want?"

Everything he could summon had been shattered to pieces; in this situation, facing two Blazing Sun Knights alone—one of whom was also a Grand Mage—he stood absolutely no chance.

Mephisto was now filled with profound regret; had he known, he would have left when the enemy besieged the city, never imagining that despite hiding so far away, he would still be discovered.

A flicker of amusement flashed across Ronin's eyes; to think the man would ask such an amateurish question at a time like this.

Whoosh—

Light flared once more upon the Flowing Flame Sword as Ronin prepared to end the man's life.

Yet right at that moment, a resounding cry echoed from the distant sky, and several gryphons paused briefly high in the air before swooping down rapidly toward the hilltop where Ronin stood.

Ronin narrowed his eyes slightly; he recognized the golden gryphon leading the pack—it was the mount of Crown Prince Gareth, who had visited Coast City not long ago.

He had originally thought the royal family would send Brol, never expecting that the one to arrive would be Gareth.

The expression on Mephisto's face softened slightly; Hesus's letter of distress seemed to have worked, and the Crown Prince, who was at the kingdom's border, had arrived.

Yet, why had only five people come?

The gryphons circled down, bringing a massive draft of wind that kicked up dust all over the ground, shrouding the mountain peak in a dense haze.

Ronin instantly cast a Clear Wind Spell, and his vision cleared up immediately.

Gareth hopped down from the back of the gryphon with a grim face, scanning the surroundings before his gaze swept over Mephisto; without needing to ask, he knew the identity of this black-robed mage.

At this moment, Hesus, who had been hiding in the distance, saw his eldest nephew arrive and came scrambling over on all fours.

"Gareth, you came at the perfect time! The Wushan Fief has rebelled, Ronin and Rulance have betrayed the Kingdom of Auduin!"

Hesus clamored wildly, "Go quickly and have your father issue an extermination order to wipe out the Wushan Family!"

Gareth's frigid gaze locked onto Ronin's calm eyes, and suppressing the fury in his heart, he barked, "I warned you last time in Coast City, yet not only did you fail to listen, but you have also grown even more arrogant! Ronin, what on earth do you think you are doing?"

"What am I doing?"

Ronin pointed to the battle drawing to a close in the distance, then toward Hesus and Mephisto.

"Naturally, to uphold the prestige of the royal family and for the peace of the kingdom, I am exterminating these outcasts who have become the minions of the Demon God!"

Gareth was in a foul mood; to him now, whether they were outcasts was no longer important, what mattered was that Ronin had failed to show him the deference due to a future king.

"Whether Hesus is the so-called Witch-Soul Race you speak of has already been verified by Archmage Faslei."

"Enough, Gareth. You know the truth better than I do, and I have no desire to waste words with you..."

Ronin cast a glance at the few individuals beside the prince; they gave him a feeling of being considerably stronger than the ones from last time.

However, no matter how strong they were, they were at most likely only at the Meteor rank.

"State your purpose for coming here, Gareth."

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Gareth's eyes; from his childhood until now, who had ever treated him with anything but humility and reverence? No one had ever spoken to him so crudely and rudely as Ronin did.

Forcing down his rage, he gritted his teeth and said, "Hand Hesus and him over to me. The Wushan Fief no longer needs to concern itself with Moonlight Valley. Now, take all your forces and retreat to Coast City, and await the orders of His Majesty the King!"

"Oh?" Ronin asked out of curiosity, "Is this your idea, or His Majesty the King's?"

"Of course it is my idea."

Gareth made no attempt to conceal it, "However, my idea is my royal father's idea!"

Ronin gave a contemptuous smile.

Bruno was in his prime; although the Crown Prince's position was solid and unshakable, a Crown Prince was ultimately just a Crown Prince, lacking the authority to directly make decisions on Bruno's behalf.

Gareth wanted to exercise the king's power now; if this were an ancient feudal dynasty, it would be a highly perilous act, and more likely than not, he would even lose his position as the heir.

As for how Bruno would decide, he believed Albert had already transmitted the information to him; if the king intended to interfere with the Wushan Castle's operation, the gryphons of Golden Feather City should have come to stop it before the siege even began.

Moonlight City is about to be captured, but there’s no sign of Brola or any others. At least, this shows Brukno has silently acquiesced to this action.

Of course, regardless of Brukno’s stance or whatever demands Garett makes, Mephiston must be dealt with here today.

If he is allowed to leave, it will only lead to endless trouble.

He took a deep breath, his aura radiating: “If I reject all your proposals?”

Garett’s gaze suddenly became sharp, “Then accept my challenge. Whoever loses, leaves!” (This chapter ends.)