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Chapter 239 - Flesh And Meridian Tempering Complete

Within Elvengarde, there was a section of the tribe that rarely receives visitors but still does every so often, nonetheless.

Between two trees was a web of vines that weaved together into a sizable cage and behind this cage of vines were two humans, who have lost their freedom after unknowingly trespassing into Elven territory.

They have already lost count of how many days, weeks, and months they held captive in the cage of vines, but their treatment was not as bad as they initially assumed prisoners to be.

When they first arrived, they were heavily injured under the pursuit of beasts, but not only did the elves healed their wounds but their meals were regularly provided for.

One could say that other than losing their freedom, they were living quite the life, chatting up visiting elves, and admiring their peerless beauty.

However, over time, the elves lost interest in these rare humans and no longer visit them like they were paying a visit to the zoo.

At this moment, another two elves finally arrived at their cage. One was elderly but filled with invisible pressure while the other was a young lady of unmatched beauty. Both were high elves of notable status.

The pressure toned the human's excitement at the rare visitors as he doubted whether something difficult was going to happen today.

The Supreme Elder waved his hand, causing the cage of vines to disentangle itself and releasing the two humans within.

"You're letting us go?" Dales said with incredulity.

"Not only that, but we will also be returning you to the Human Domain. We only hope that you did not bear any ill will for the treatment you have received from us thus far." The Supreme Elder said.

"No ill feelings are borne. In fact, we should be thanking you for saving our lives." Dales smiled lightheartedly.

Compared to the dangers on the frontlines, being captive for a few months where everything was provided for was even considered luxurious.

The other human, Tom nodded furiously with a mixture of excitement and happiness, "Yes, yes. It was quite an enjoyable stay here."

"Oh? Then… did you want to continue staying here?" The Supreme Elder was surprised and asked with doubt. Did humans enjoy living in cages?

Dales and Tom immediately denied furiously but their attention was soon drawn to the peerless beauty beside the elderly high elf. They could not keep their eyes off the princess.

Princess Faelyn simply smiled and curtsied as a form of greeting. She was still uncertain she was chosen for this trip to the Human Domain.

The group of four departed soon after for the direction of the Great Wall.

The Great Forest was filled with its own hostile wildlife outside of Elvengarde that occupied the inner region, but none of these a problem with the Supreme Elder.

With a bit of pressure exerted, these small beasts and birds were all scared away. Elves cherished life and did not needlessly unless they need to.

"Supreme Elder, why did you choose me among my brother and sisters to accompany you?" Princess Faelyn asked curiously along the way.

The Supreme Elder, who was always calm, felt his eye twitched at the question.

"Ahem, you should also know why. None of them are suitable." The elderly high elf answered vaguely.

Princess Faelyn opened her mouth but no words came out. Of course, she soon understood the reason.

Her elder siblings all had extreme personalities with unique interests. Taking her Third Sister, for example, the Third Princess was battle-oriented and a female supremacist who believe women were superior to men.

One time, the Third Princess was caught in a losing argument with two other male high elves on the topic, she exploded violently and shoved one elf's head up the other's ass.

Ever since then, a new ass—Ahem, world had opened to them that made the two elves docile. They never argued with the Third Princess again. They even adopted feminine behavior and more surprisingly, became the Third Princess's followers.

More tragically, this effective method had become the Third Princess's modus operandi in conquering men and had been the scandalous topic of elven discussion.

Being battle-oriented was just putting it nicely. The Third Princess was a barbaric brute.

It was hard to imagine that all the other princesses and prince was similarly this extreme, but fortunately, Princess Faelyn was normal.

The group took a day's journey before they exited the Great Forest and saw the faint outline of the Great Wall in the distance.

'So, we finally get to return, huh?' Dales silently thought.

He did not know what changes have happened to the Human Domain during his absence, but if they could ally with the elves, it might not be a bad thing.

The Supreme Elder had briefly mentioned such intention along the way as he became aware of the reason why they were freed.

...

'It's done!'

Leon silently celebrated as a batch of Realm Reversal Pills were refined.

Medicinal fragrance escaped from the pill cauldron as he looked inside for the exact contents. Three sparkling brown pills of mid-rank quality laid amidst a pile of medicinal dredges.

Leon could not help but twitched his mouth as he saw this sorry sight of pill refinement.

He knew the quality of his pill refinement would drop with the lack of good flame and inadequate flame control due to his Revolving Core problem, but he did not think it would be this bad.

Nevertheless, he pocketed the pills and requested for Aria and Lynne to guard him while he ingested the first pill.

As the first Realm Reversal Pill dissolved in his mouth and transformed into a type of medicinal energy that he could control as he guided it towards his Revolving Core in the glabella.

A sizzling sound was created the moment he coated his Revolving Core with it.

If an inexperienced practitioner witnessed their own Revolving Core sizzling, they would have paled with fright because most would assume their Revolving Core was going to explode.

However, Leon faced it calmly as he knew it was the medicinal efficacy taking place rather than the Revolving Core losing control.

Within an incense worth of time, the complete Revolving Core was melted back into a liquid state of energy, but Leon was not finished yet despite feeling his control returning.

He popped the second Realm Reversal Pill into his mouth to undergo a second round and drop his cultivation one realm further.

At this point, the energy center in his glabella was brimming with strands of pseudo-Grandmist energy and threatening to flow out of control.

"I'm going to start cultivating. Don't be alarmed by my change." Leon quickly said to Aria and Lynne before shutting his eyes immediately and diverted some strands into his meridians and resuming the tempering process.

As expected, the process was painful without surprises, but the more progress he made in tempering his meridians, the less pain he had to endure.

After reaching 30% completion, the pain was great, but it was tolerable with gritted teeth. Sweat oozed from his face and ladies showed worried looks as they wiped his sweat with their sleeves like loving wives tending to their husband.

Two hours later, he reached 50% completion.

Four hours later, he reached 70% completion.

Six hours later, he reached 90% completion.

At this rate, his meridian tempering would be fully complete in another hour.

It was also at this time that Lilith finally caught up and discovered their group. She was excited as she got slightly lost on the way and wasted a few hours to find them.

She spotted Leon seated by a tree and immediately rushed over, but she was stopped by Aria and Lynne before she could get any closer.

"Stop! Who are you? What do you want with Leon?" Lynne questioned her.

'They must be Leon's women.' Lilith quickly identified after being stopped, but her mind did not linger on the topic.

"Never mind that, I have something urgent to tell Leon!"

Lilith shook her head and said seriously before taking another step forward, but she was shoved backward.

"I won't allow it. Leon is currently in a critical period of cultivation. I won't let you disturb him!" Lynne said with slight anger.

Who the heck was this lady? Doesn't she know it is rude and dangerous to disturb a person's cultivation session?

It was only now that Lilith looked at Leon sturdily and noticed the painful expression oozing with sweat. She was alarmed and relieved at the same time and no longer felt annoyed for being shoved.

She would be drowning in guilt if something were to happen to Leon due to her carelessness.

"Sorry."

Lilith was quick to admit her fault.

Lynne shrugged as she started to study Lilith. Such a pretty girl with fair skin, what was her relationship with Leon?

Despite living in two adjacent guest courtyards for a period for time, the two had never met, especially when Lilith had practically shut herself in her room during her stay.

"She sounds like that sister that lived next door…" Aria quietly whispered into Lynne's ears as she was reminded of the time they attempted to eavesdrop.

The palace guards were intrigued by the situation unfolding. Were they about to witness the confrontation between the new and old lovers of the prince?

Although the prince had never stated his relationship with the beast girl clearly, they would not believe that nothing was going on even if the prince said there was no relationship.

Who was he kidding? The prince's fiancée and two lovers were all top-class beauties, while the beast girl's beauty did not fall short.

Even if there was no relationship now, it was hard to say about the future. All the beautiful women only seem to fall into the laps of great men.

Because they feared losing their partners, the palace guards had once asked their partners to make themselves uglier, but they all got a beating for it.

Lynne scrunched her brows when she heard Aria's whisper. The sister next door? You are already calling her sister? Lynne was speechless. It seems that they need to have a talk with Leon later.

"What's the urgent news? You can tell us first." Lynne said.

Lilith faintly felt unwelcomed, but she nodded. "Around six hours ago, a grievously injured messenger arrived and informed your Queen that Eastfell Region or something had fallen and got taken over a 20 thousand strong army. Your Queen rushed off with her soldiers after that…"

"That does sound pretty serious… no, that is completely terrible!"

Aria and Lynne traded looks with tacit understanding. They had plans to accompany Leon to the capital, but no longer seems possible.

Transcendents were almighty, but they were still human. The Queen could be needing their help right now. They had to go assist!

Lynne bit her lip and unwillingly said, "Please look after Leon for us."

Lilith was confused by their intention, but she nodded.

With that, a powerful aura gushed out from the Aria and Lynne as they disappeared from their spots and headed east.

Since the palace guards had not said anything, the person should at least be trustworthy and should not be lying to them.

Lilith was spooked. She did not sense anything from the two but when the powerful aura exploded out, she was shocked by their strengths.

They were far stronger than she was. And here she thought she was a young prodigy. Were all the women around Leon this insane?

Lilith felt complicated in her heart and even faint jealousy, then she became confused about why she felt like that.

Because there was someone more superior than her in terms of talent? Yes… that must be the case… Lilith silently convinced herself.

Leon did not know what had transpired due to his senses being sealed off.

An hour later, his tempered meridians had finally reached 100% completion, but he did not stop. Tempering his meridians had only cost a third of his energy.

He focused the remaining energy on mastering the first stage of [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard]. He did not want people to continue looking at him like a lopsided person.

When he proceeded with the Body Forging method, he finally experienced the great difference between tempering the flesh with pseudo-Grandmist and spirit energy.

Pseudo-Grandmist energy was practically made for Body Forging.

Within half a day, he had used up every last ounce of his remaining energy and mastered the first stage of [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard].

Now, he was just missing the accompanying Body Runes to raising the defensive level of his body to the same height as his right arm, but no ordinary weapons wielded by one-star Awakeners and below can harm him even if he didn't use his right arm to block.

If pseudo-Grandmist energy was already this effective, he wondered how much more ridiculous True Grandmist energy would be.

Chapter 240 - Carnage And Chaos

[Hegemon of Primal Chaos].

The denizens of the Divine Realm did not know if anyone can truly become a hegemon of Primal Chaos by cultivating according to its instruction, for none had ever succeeded before Leon.

However, they all believed that anything unearthed from the ancient ruins, the last vestige of gods would be anything but ordinary. They were not wrong.

For that reason, it was widely circulated throughout the Divine Realm and never buried in the heartless annals of time.

Perhaps, everyone was hoping that one day, someone would succeed and become a great existence that could enlighten them in the Great Way.

The desire to be eternal, to be everlasting was the pursuit of every divine practitioner.

Divine Origin practitioners could live up to 10 thousand years, while Divine Kings could live up 100 thousand years, and this was just the natural lifespan granted by their cultivation base and not including the wondrous elixirs of the world that could extend their longevity further.

Leon had once thought that he was a great genius of his time for being able to succeed in practicing the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique, but looking back on it now, it was indeed a naive thought.

His success had nothing to do with his own talents, but the world itself.

Perhaps it was not possible in the Divine Realm due to the maturity of the universe, making it neigh impossible to comprehend the Grandmist Law, but it was possible here.

Why was that so? Because this world was still in its infancy, where Grandmist still exist and it was easier to comprehend laws?

Leon recalled the star map in his mind and the big cluster of light at its center. What if all that light was True Grandmist energy?

The outer section of the light cluster was filled with various energy of different colors, but the inner section was a similar grey to his pseudo-Grandmist energy, so he could be correct.

However, Leon still felt it should not be that simple like he was missing something, or he could be entirely incorrect. He would only know for sure when he is strong enough to cross the stars and see it with his own two eyes.

Nevertheless, he was beginning to truly understand why people only Awaken to the five elements at the start of their cultivation.

The five elements were easier to comprehend because they were perceptible to the eye.

Elements like wind, lightning, space, and time were much harder because they were either rarely seen or cannot be perceived by the eye at all.

Myriads of thoughts flickered across his mind like a flash of enlightenment as he completes his Body Forging session.

It had been a painful process, but after completion, all he felt was pleasure and a sense of achievement. He could get addicted to this…

With an ecstatic mood, he wanted to celebrate his achievement with Aria and Lynne.

Lilith was remarkably close to Leon. She was quite curious about how he cultivates.

What she did not expect was for Leon to suddenly reach out his hands and pulling her into his embrace just as he was opening her eyes.

She was so shocked by the sudden situation that she did not resist. As their eyes met up close, her heart thumped like crazy.

Leon's half-smiling expression also stiffened up when he realized the presence, he felt was not Aria nor Lynne, but someone else entirely.

The two locked gazes and Leon also felt his own heartstrings being pulled. Those deep black eyes and soft cherry lips seem to draw him in as his head inched closer…

Lilith was frozen like a statue, but her mind was in full panic mode as she shut her eyes. Tumultuous thoughts raged in mind with faint anticipation and worry.

However, at the last moment, Leon seemed to have recovered and steered his head away. He almost got bewitched by her natural charms. That was too scary. It seems his mind was not firm enough.

"Ahem, what are you doing here? Where did Aria and Lynne go?" Leon awkwardly coughed and released Lilith from his arms.

Lilith reopened her eyes with faint disappointment…

Huh? Why was she disappointed? That person also took advantage of her. Lilith shook her head furiously and recovered her normal state.

"They already left. Something came up and it's not looking good for your kingdom…"

Lilith's mind did not linger as she began retelling the news seriously.

"I see."

There was faint disappointment in his tone, but otherwise, he was still calm and unbothered by the news, causing Lilith to be confused.

"Aren't you worried about them? Are you not planning to follow after them?" Lilith asked. For some reason, she did not seem to understand him at all.

"No. My mother is there to hold the fort. I am confident that even if she cannot handle the situation, she would be able to retreat with them safely. Whether I go or not would not make much of a difference if it is something even my mother cannot handle." Leon said calmly.

If the situation was as bad as Lilith had described, then he suspected that the Azure Verdant Plains region had already fallen along with Eastfell Region.

In case that, they would retreat to defend Grassland Region. Elder Evergreen and his people were there. Even if they do not understand the language, they could still understand what was happening and offer their hands.

Lilith rolled her eyes, not comprehending his thought process at all. Not much difference is still some difference, no? Why does she seem like she cares more about the kingdom than he does?

"Is going back to the Capital more important than saving your kingdom?"

"No, of course not, but having to go to the frontlines does not equate to saving the kingdom while going to the Capital does," Leon said, but he did understand Lilith's urgency. He needed to visit the Capital, but he cannot spend too much time there.

Leon turned to the palace guards and said, "All of you don't need to accompany back to the Capital anymore. Go back and assist the east where ever you can."

The palace guards were ready to object but they remembered the prince was more powerful than them and did not need their protection.

Their mouths opened awkwardly before they saluted in compliance.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"You should return too. I'm going to pay the Capital a quick visit, but I'll be back soon." Leon said to Lilith as she grudgingly nodded for his lack of explanation.

With no one to slow him down, Leon headed to the Capital at his quickest speed. He began to put his new powerful body to the test.

His legs coiled like springs before he catapulted himself off into the distance with alarming speed.

Bam!

The ground in the prince's original spot cracked into a sizable crater in the wake of his actions and the person was already gone by the time the dust settled.

"What powerful leg strength!"

The palace guards gasped in shock.

…

Going back almost 18 hours previously when the night had just arrived and the defense at Azure Verdant Plains was lost for some time.

Elizabeth had flown with great speed and arrived at the border region of Azure Verdant Plains ahead of her 2000 soldiers.

The soldiers of Crawford Kingdom could still be seen fleeing for their lives in the night while the enemy soldiers were hot in pursuit.

The fastest ones survived, but the slow ones all died. Some tripped and fell, plead for their life but still got mercilessly beheaded by the enemy soldiers. The scene was filled with carnage and chaos.

Elizabeth was on the verge of exploding at the loss of so many good soldiers.

In the far back of the enemy line, a ghastly figure surrounded in a diabolic aura could be seen walking at a leisure pace.

Elizabeth's body trembled with anger at what she saw above that figure. It was Blood Pool large enough to dye the field in red. Thousands of lives must have been lost to gather such a large quantity of blood.

The figure seemed to have expected her eventual arrival and gave her an insidious and provocative grin. The Blood Pool was prepared for their inevitable battle.

"Bastards!"

Fury filled the Queen's being as a sharp anguish roar swept the lands before her like a plague and affected every soldier on the battlefield without discrimination.

Their steel armors and weapons all rattled in response as the enemy soldiers paled and froze in fear at the anger of a monarch.

"You may come from different kingdoms, but we are all humans! So, what the fuck at you all doing?! Take a good look at that Fiend behind you and tell me whose side are you on! Are you on the side of humanity or are you on the side of that Fiend?!"

Elizabeth swept her cold gaze across the enemy's faces from the sky as her biting cold voice rippled across the land.

The enemy soldiers all wore guilty expressions. This is not what they wanted but they were powerless and at the mercy of the strong. If they do not obey orders, then the one to die would be them!

"I give you all one chance. Drop your weapons and get lost!"

Elizabeth gave them her warning. That was her greatest mercy. If they remain unrepentant and continue to attack, she would show no mercy.

The enemy soldiers were stuck at a crossroads where both choices spelled death. An enemy general sighed and laid down his weapon. If he was going to die, he wanted to die with a conscience, to die as a human being.

Soon after the enemy general laid down his weapon and started walking away, 5000 loyal soldiers followed suit and dropped their weapons with red eyes. They were humans too!

Some of the enemy commanders had the urge to stop these deserters by cutting them down. Even if their general deserted, the one with real power and to whom they had to obey was the Grand Elder.

The Grand Elder of the Bloodfiend Sect did not stop such a situation and even looked forward to it. He was not confident that he had collected enough blood to fight the Queen of Crawford Kingdom.

In any case, these soldiers were just cannon fodders to him. He did not care for their lives.

"What are you all waiting for? Kill these deserters!" The Grand Elder sniggered.

The enemy soldier who had yet to lay down their weapons had an internal conflict between choices before they steeled their resolve and chased all the weaponless fleeing soldiers.

Elizabeth was not going to watch all these surrendered soldiers die indifferently. At least they still have some conscience left in them and knew when to correct their ways rather than continuing to obey evil despite knowing it was wrong.

"Since you are unrepentant, die for me!"

Elizabeth sneered and reached out to the air with a grasping gesture as it started to shake. She had never controlled so many metals from such distances before and was facing great resistance for it.

The pursuing enemy soldiers had changes of expressions as they felt their helmets tightening with the premonition of death. They finally panicked and threw away their weapons.

"Your Majesty have mercy!"

"I surrender! Please spare me!"

However, the Queen's following words ruthlessly sliced away any wishful thoughts they had of surviving. Their death sentence will not be waived for her words were absolute!

"You all had your chances!"

The Queen finally clenched her hand in a fist.

"Arghhh! Nooo!"

The enemy soldiers all clasped their helmets and screamed painfully as the helmet began to deform and crush their heads.

Like watermelons being splattered, several hundreds of heads finally popped with blood and brain matter scattering from the gaps in their concaved helmets.

Chapter 241 - Battle Between Transcendents

A chilling breeze swept across the battlefield after the death of these several hundred-odd soldiers. The instinctive chill did not come from the cold winds of the night itself but their inborn fear of death.

Despite having the numerical advantage of tens of thousands of troops, and a Transcendent on their side, they did not feel like they could win at all.

The Grand Elder proceeded to stroll forward at his own leisure pace with the Blood Pool hung above his head. Each footstep was like a drum that banged on the hearts of the Durham soldiers and Valaran soldiers in his immediate vicinity.

The pressure that was exerted by the Grand Elder's presence made them think twice of surrendering to the enemy.

The quick-witted ones immediately threw away their helmets and armor. These steel pieces of defenses no longer assured them of protection but shackles like an invisible grip on their throats.

Without their armor and weapon though, they began to wonder how they should fight.

Step, step, step… The Grand Elder continues to stroll forward without pause.

When a certain distance was reached, the blood of the dead soldiers began to seep out of their bodies and congregate towards Blood Pool in a grisly manner like the veins in one's body.

The soldiers of Durham and Valaran all had sharp changes in expression. Even the blood of their own brothers was not spared.

This… is the person we are serving? This person simply does not view us as humans at all!

The soldiers of Durham and Valaran began to sway in their determination. Was it too late to surrender?

If they surrender, there was a chance that they would be killed on the spot while trying to free, but if they manage to survive, at least their future was guaranteed.

Whereas siding with this Fiend, even if they win the war, the future was bleak under the tyranny of these bloodsuckers.

"If you feel you are standing on the wrong side then step forward and join me. I will not pursue your act of transgression against my kingdom."

The Queen's words resounded across the battlefield again. Ruling by oppression and fear could only get a person so far. It was a means but never the way.

The enemy soldiers no longer hesitated and began fleeing towards her like they had been pardoned.

Fortunately, their luck was good. When the entire army surrendered, neither the Grand Elder nor the sect members of both sects in the far back attempted to stop them.

No one dared to interfere as the two Transcendents were about to do battle.

The Grand Elder simply smiled coldly at the soldier's fleeing figures. These ants were just clearing the field for the imminent battle between Transcendents.

The amount of blood he collected was enough to make even his own Sect Master weary. He was confident and no longer cautious of the Queen.

Elizabeth did not have any hopes for these soldiers to be useful in battle. Them surrendering was already the best outcome she could hope for.

Too much blood has already been shed and these soldiers stood no chance against the sect members of the Bloodfiend Sect and Illusory Butterfly Sect.

She understood their predicament and granted them another chance to choose. Perhaps, she had become softer after having her son and husband back.

The 2000 troops rushing over from the Grassland Region finally caught up to her, while the surviving soldiers of Crawford had also retreated safely and got joined up with the 2000 troops for reorganization.

Looking at how well prepared the enemy kingdom was to equip their entire army with steel armor for this war, even an idiot could guess that the two sects had been scheming for an exceptionally long time.

The annual tribute of alloys decreased until it stopped entirely was not due to the depletion of their mines like Crawford Kingdom's mines had, but because they had been secretly hoarding it for themselves!

The enemy was long prepared to drown the Crawford Kingdom in a sea of fire, but they had held themselves back until now.

Elizabeth's piercing gaze narrowed in on the Grand Elder in the distance.

Whatever motive they had for plunging the Crawford Kingdom into chaos no longer mattered at this point. Such an evil cultivation sect had to be destroyed.

Countless ownerless weapons and armors on the battlefield rose to the skies with a lifting gesture before she twisted and bent all the steel pieces into sharp pointy projectiles.

Without warning, she fired them all at the Grand Elder.

The battle between Transcendents had already begun. The Grand Elder waved his hand in response and summoned the Blood Pool in front of him.

The steel projectiles sank into Blood Wall like bullets plunging into the ocean, losing its momentum drastically but failed to stop due to the Queen's great power.

The Grand Elder's relaxed expression stiffened at the sight and immediately transformed his Blood Pool into a solidified Blood Iron Wall before the steel projectiles were finally halted in its tracks.

"Hmph! Attacking without notice, as expected of a Crawford Royalty. You're all a bunch of savage thieves." The Grand Elder sneered with great hostility in his tone, but inwardly he had become more serious after that brief exchange.

Complacency was the death of all men.

A portion of the Blood Pool was divided and wrapped around the Grand Elder like silk before it solidified and hardened into a full suit of armor made purely out of the blood.

Afterward, the Grand Elder tossed away his own sword and formed a Blood Iron Sword as his weapon. Metal objects were useless against the Queen and would even hinder his own movements.

"Hmph, I don't know what enmity you have with the Crawford Kingdom, but the war had already started. Spare me the useless nonsense!"

Elizabeth's gaze grew colder. The Grand Elder's action was like a declaration of close-combat challenge.

Withdrawing her treasured sword from its sheathe, she lunges straight down at the Grand Elder.

Her speed accelerated due to gravity and clashed with the Grand Elder in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

The force of the clash traveled to the ground and cracked the earth beneath the Grand Elder's feet before another invisible force rippled across the surrounding surface and shattered it into fine dust!

A large crater left behind as the two retreated from the repelling force generated by the powerful clash.

The Queen retreated over twenty yards, while the Grand Elder only retreated ten yards despite being the one on the defensive.

One could immediately see who wielded superior strength in this single bout.

Supposedly, the physical limitations of humans peaked at 10 thousand jins once they reached the Transcendent Realm. Without the aid of Body Forging methods, 10 thousand jin was the physical limit of Awakeners.

However, the destruction caused by the two Transcendents was not something that could be generated by the clash of physical strengths alone even if the Grand Elder wielded greater physical strength.

It was not just a clash of physical strength but a clash of laws!

The Transcendent Realm was the stage where Awakeners truly gain insights into the Elemental Laws!

They were no longer bound by mortal limits and able to power from heaven and earth. A truly accomplished Transcendent would be able to summon the wind and rain on the continent!

Elizabeth was moderately surprised that her sword strike augmented by the Metal Laws failed to shatter the Grand Elder's lousy weapon formed by blood.

Although it had not been long since she entered the Transcendent Realm and had not gained much insight into the Metal Law, a weapon augmented by her Metal Law should have had unmatched defense and sharpness!

Furthermore, her treasured sword was refined from Magisteel, Star Meteorite, and Obsidian Crystals. One could say it was a top-grade weapon among top-grade weapons.

If Leon were present, he would have classified the augmented sword as a high-grade spirit artifact. That is say that the Metal Law was able to augment the quality of a weapon by a whole grade!

The Grand Elder had been in the Transcendent Realm for much longer and knew more about the Transcendent Realm than Elizabeth.

His comprehension of the Blood Laws was even a grade higher than the Queen. There was no way his Blood Iron Sword would shatter when the clash of laws would render their advantages useless.

After the two had retreated from their clash, the Grand Elder did not wait for the Queen to take the next initiative again.

He harrumphed coldly and raised one hand and flicked downwards. The Blood Pool that continued to hang above them began to spread and formed a solid dome over the crater and trapped them inside.

Elizabeth realized she had fallen for a trap, but she was not too worried. Although she was isolated from all the steel projectiles and equipment she could manipulate on the battlefield, she still had her sword and the Metal Law.

Even so, she was not in a rush to attack again and studied her opponent more seriously.

The Grand Elder glanced at the small chip on his Blood Iron Sword before it disappeared and regained its perfect shape in the next instance.

His face darkened when he recalled the Queen's previous words. He felt his anger rising at the face that the enemy they have a blood feud with is not even aware of their blood feud. It was like while they were scheming to destroy their enemy, their enemy could not even care less about them.

The Grand Elder felt like the efforts of his sect all these years were being denied and it filled him with fury even if he knew the reason for that is because they had kept their origins very well hidden!

However, it had already come to this point. There was no reason to hide it any longer. It was either they succeed in destroying the Crawford Kingdom or they face sect annihilation while trying!

Grand Elder recovered his calmness and said in a slow and unhurried tone, "You don't know what kind of enmity we have? Perhaps, you will know after hearing the name Denholm Royal Family?"

"Denholm Royal Family? What? Never heard of it." Elizabeth went blank, frowned, and then shook her head nonchalantly.

The Grand Elder's mood suddenly became abysmal.

Chapter 242 - Cleaving Apart The Land

Elizabeth was aware that before the founding of the Crawford Kingdom was established, there was a great cleansing that took place just after the completion of the Great Wall. As for the exact parties involved in the cleansing, there were no records and had been buried in history.

The public was not even aware that such a dark event took place in history because it was purposely hidden. It was human nature to bury the ugliness of their past and glorify their achievements.

Back then, there had been far, far too many royal bloodlines of fallen kingdoms within the group of survivors they made it to the Human Domain.

When the Great Wall was built, the unity humanity had was easily fragmented as everyone turned towards their own interest, fighting for the lands to rebuild their own kingdoms.

Every royal family was used to standing above millions and lording over vast expanses of lands, they would not be settled with a small piece of the Human Domain and fought for greater benefits. Only a few royal families of that time were satisfied with just occupying a small piece of land each.

When the demands of many royal families could not be met, a war was on the verge of breaking out. In order to save the dwindling population of humanity, the greedy royalties that made up the minority were slaughtered in cold blood by the Hero King.

Elizabeth had never heard of the Denholm Royal Family, but she could guess that one of the descendent of those royal families survived the disaster back then and became the big scourge it was today.

"I see, you're a descendent of those royal families. Then allow me to finish off what Hero King had left unfinished!" Elizabeth said coldly.

Although it was hard to say whether what the Hero King did was right or wrong, humanity being able to thrive again was all due to the Hero King's action.

The Grand Elder was already at a boiling point. When he heard the Queen's words, he began to laugh insidiously and sneered, "You want to kill me? Hahaha! You don't even know what kind of situation you are in!"

Elizabeth soon frowned as she felt her movements being restricted.

"A Blood Domain that can suppress the movements of those inside it, huh?" She slowly muttered.

"It's too late for you to realize!" The Grand Elder grinned and increased the suppression strength.

Elizabeth was rooted on the spot and the ground beneath her feet began to tremble from the pressure of her attempting to move like she was under a powerful gravity suppression.

Her blood flowed normally but she was given the impression that it was not.

Despite the situation looking seemingly unfavorable, she was not worried and looked at the Grand Elder calmly.

"How can you still remain calm after this? I can kill you any time I want!" The Grand Elder frowned.

Every member of the Denholm Royal Family had been taught since young that when they had the power, they had to not only kill every last member of the Crawford Royal Family, they had to make sure they suffer antagonizing deaths.

Thus, despite over 500 years have passed and the actual people involved were dead, the hatred did not diminish but grew stronger instead under their ancestor's manipulative teachings.

Every member was twisted by their ancestor's teachings that everything the Crawford Royal Family enjoyed today should have belonged to them! They were robbed of their rightful place and the Crawford Royal Family were all thieves.

"You think something like this can stop me?" Elizabeth said impassively.

The suppression effect seemed to have waned until it was completely ineffective. Elizabeth just had to exert her own laws to counteract the suppression.

Regardless of their comprehension of laws, they were both Preliminary Accession-level Transcendents.

They have a Field of Authority that stops other Transcendents from manipulating the elements within one's own body.

Although every Awakener also has a Field of Authority that stops other Awakeners from manipulating their body's elements, it was much weaker compared to a Transcendent.

Nevertheless, it was still enough to stop a Transcendent from ripping the element out of Awakeners unless direct contact was made.

Awakeners were the masters of their own bodies. Only when they are dead will their body's elements be easily manipulated through distance.

The Grand Elder grunted as he felt the Queen imposing her own pressure on him. After all, blood also contains elements of iron.

But shortly after, he also waived the suppression off him. Such tricks were only effective on lower level Awakeners.

"Hmph! You're asking to die!" The Grand Elder roared with an angry tone.

Elizabeth knew the suppression would not work on the Grand Elder either, but she did it anyway in order to provoke him.

In battle, it was important to keep calm and not act on impulse. Rash actions were more likely to cost them their lives.

The Grand Elder stomped his feet and thrust himself at the Queen. He could guess the Queen's intention and would not fall for such a simple trick at his age. With his sly nature, he played along to find an opening.

In a short instance, the two were engaged in battle, both physically and psychologically.

The two traded blows for blow with their swords, cracking the earth and shattering the air with the force of their clashes.

The Grand Elder's sword was slowly chipped away but it would immediately repair itself in the next moment.

They appeared to be evenly matched, but neither of them seemed to have gone all out and was still testing the waters, even now.

Suddenly, the Grand Elder laughed, "While you are here busy fighting me, who's going stop the southern army?"

Elizabeth was unmoved and coldly said, "You don't have to worry about that."

Although Eastfell Region's fall and the betrayal of Eastfell City's Governor was unexpected, there was a contingency plan for that. Right now, another army should be heading there from the south to stop their advance!

"Fine, let's say you did prepare a backup plan to stop the southern army, but did you think I am the only Transcendent that participated in this war? The Transcendent from the Illusory Butterfly Sect is probably leading another army and storming on your capital as we speak!" The Grand Elder sneered as his eyes flickered with an ulterior motive for revealing that information.

Elizabeth finally had a change in expression while the Grand Elder reacted to the opening he created.

The Blood Domain transformed into countless Blood Needles and rained down on the Queen, while the Grand Elder charged forward at the same time, leaving the Queen little room to maneuver.

However!

Just as the Grand Elder about to hack out with his sword, he had a crisp change in expression and immediately retreated.

The Blood Needles that rained down on the Queen suddenly changed trajectory at the next moment and shot in different directions, but that was not what caused the Grand Elder to retreat with alarm.

The Queen's aura suddenly changed and even the air itself seemed to have changed as it billowed outwards.

A red line appeared on the Grand Elder's face as he wiped his cheek and trembled when he saw his own blood. Did he get cut? How did he get cut?!

"What did you did you?!"

The Grand Elder questioned with a deep interrogative tone. He wasn't surprised by the fact the Queen could interfere with his manipulative control over blood, but he did not see the Queen attack at all! He was both alarmed and incomprehensive!

"If what you said was true then I no longer have time to play with you!"

Elizabeth said coldly as her sword began to ring with vibrations while the surrounding air surged with sharpness before coiling around the sword with a glimpse of silver sheen.

The sword was raised in the air before she hacked down at Grand Elder in the distance. A frighteningly fast and powerful sword wave was shot out from the sword as it sliced through the air.

The Grand Elder turned ghastly paled and dodged with all his might. His instincts screamed danger. That was not something he could block!

If he tried, he would be sliced apart without a doubt!

The sword wave narrowly missed the Grand Elder and continued onwards to cleave the earth and parted the lands. The Blood Domain was broken and shattered like broken glasses.

Looking at the 200-yard stretch of divided land, the Grand Elder gasped with lingering fear, before looking back at the Queen. He did not dare stray his attention for too long from this fearsome opponent!

"That was sword intent, wasn't it? You're a Sword Master!"

Elizabeth was lazy to explain and dashed forward while her sword vibrated with sharpness again. She was not a Sword Master, but as a swordsman with the Metal Law, she might as well be!

"W-Wait!"

The Grand Elder was frightened and immediately tucked tail and ran. Against an attack that cannot be blocked, he had no hope of winning!

The broken blood shards turned back into viscous liquid and shot towards the Queen in an effort to impede her movements, but the Queen just hacked out with her sword and another frightening sword wave was sent his way.

Swoosh!

An arm was sliced off, but the Grand Elder did not even look back for it and continued to flee for his life. He finally was painfully aware of the fearsome prowess of metal-users.

Naturally, Elizabeth was not going to let the Blood Transcendent escape and immediately chased after while charging up her next attack.

If she let the Grand Elder live, she would not be able to soothe the souls of her dead soldiers!

All blood cultivators must be killed on sight! Death without mercy!

Chapter 243 - Massacre

Eastfell City, like many other cities in the Crawford Kingdom, was designed according to the old feudal system and was made to be self-sustaining with its future growth in mind.

It was a beautiful city surrounded by lush fields of agricultural farming and awash with fresh air, but right now, this once beautiful city, the gem of the Eastfell Region had become a blazing inferno filled with dense billowing black smoke and madness. Buildings burned, fields were ruined, and people scrambled for their lives.

The Southern Valaran Army led by sect members of Bloodfiend Sect was currently razing the city to the ground and slaughtering its people after the army reached the city.

A mother carrying her baby daughter was seen being chased by a group of Valaran soldiers and tripped over a stone on the street among many other scenes of similar cases of people being hunted down by soldiers.

"Nooo!" The mother protected her darling baby within her arms as she rolled on the ground. She looked at the soldiers with a fearful expression and tearfully pleaded, "Please, at least spare my girl. She is just a baby!"

The Valaran soldiers wore hesitant expressions as they looked at each other as the mother show her baby to them, but a grunt came from the back and their expression turned resolute with gritted teeth as they slashed out with their drawn swords.

"No!" The mother was both shocked and furious at their heartlessness. She retracted her arms and shielded her baby as she suffered the fatal onslaught of their attack.

"Why are you doing this? Are you still humans?!"

Helplessness, despair, unwillingness, and desperation could be seen in the mother's eyes as she coughed up blood and strength were drained from her body, before she drew her last breath not long after.

The baby wailed loudly like it was mourning for her mother's passing. The Valaran soldiers could not bring themselves to kill the baby even after they killed her mother.

"Kill it. Everyone in this city has to die, otherwise, the one to die will be you!"

The voice sounded again from behind and the Valaran soldiers trembled.

Soon, the baby's wail was no more.

The owner of the voice belonged to an inner sect elder. Seeing the deed was done, the person flicked his sleeve and went to supervise a different area.

Similar scenes were taking place all over Eastfell City.

Accompanying the inner sect elder was a group of inner sect disciples and outer sect members. The inner sect disciples remained indifferent, but the group of outer sect members was confused.

What kind of war was this? They were not conquering but destroying everything and blatantly wasting away human resources that could be used for cultivation.

After the group was gone, the Valaran soldiers gripped their fist kowtowed an apology to the dead bodies.

"We're sorry!"

They knew the guilt will plague them for life and they were all probably going to go to hell for it. Nothing could redeem them for the deed they had done.

…

Eastfell Governor's Mansion.

"What's the meaning of this?! This was not part of the deal!"

The Governor roared to a hooded figure with great fury after seeing his beautiful city burned and his people killed from the top balcony.

"The deal was after we successfully conquer the kingdom and remove the Crawford Royal Family, the Eastfell Region will become independent and belong solely to you, but we didn't say in what state we would give it to you!" The hooded figure sneered.

"Y-You!" The Governor pointed at the hooded figure while trembling with rage. "Arghh! I'll kill you, you crazy bastard!"

Before the Governor could attack, another hooded figure suddenly appeared behind him and stabbed him in the heart!

The Governor turned to the new assailant and retreated several weakened steps with his strength and vitality rapidly declining. "Why? How could you burn the bridge after crossing it?! We cooperated for so many years!"

"Without destruction, there can be no creation." The hooded figure said indifferently. "Since you no longer see eye to eye with us, we no longer need you."

What the upper circle of the Bloodfiend Sect wanted the total eradication of the Crawford Royalties and all who worships the Hero King!

"You wanted to wipe out the entire population of the Crawford Kingdom?! That's millions of lives we are talking about! You are crazy! You're all fucking insane!"

The Governor roared with the last of his strength. He passed away with his eyes wide open. Horror and deep regret could be seen in them.

"We are pretty much done here. Proceed with the plan. When the situation here spreads to the other region like wildfire, I doubt those idiots would open their gates for us willingly." The hooded figure smirked.

The other hooded figure wiped his dagger nonchalantly and nodded. A beacon was fired into the sky to inform their sect disciples in the surrounding regions to proceed with the next step of the plan.

"Wait a minute." The other hooded figure suddenly paused. "We have company."

On a distant hill, just outside Eastfell City, A strong army of 10 thousand Crawford soldiers arrived under the leadership of the Brigadier General, Rohan.

"What madness!"

Rohan's mood plummeted at the state of the burning city in front of them, while the eyes of the soldiers turned red from the horrific scene before them.

The Brigadier General drew his sword and raised it high, before issuing a string of orders with a deep but resonating voice, "Charge into the city and kill all these mad dogs for me and save the people! The airship will provide support from above!"

"Such atrocity will not be allowed in this kingdom! We will accept no surrender from these fiends! Spare no one!"

"Go!"

With their specialized muskets equipped with bayonets, the soldiers obliged in unison with shocking volume that shook the very earth before they charged like the rumbling of ten thousand hooves!

"Kill!"

The army quickly flooded the city occupied by 20 thousand enemy soldiers and its dwindling residents. The enemy soldiers were already low in morale from the senseless killing of innocents. They were no match for the high angry spirit of the Crawford army.

While the city battle took place, no one knew that two figures were quietly overlooking the situation in the clouds above Eastfell City before they finally disappeared elsewhere.

…

Azure River crossing, north, Extreme Misty Forest.

As mentioned by the Grand Elder, he was not the only Transcendent that participated in the war. The Grand Elder of Illusory Butterfly Sect had also participated.

To the Illusory Butterfly Sect who had their headquarters situated inside the misty forest, they were extremely familiar with it and intended to use it as cover as they sneak an entire 20 thousand strong Durham army with them around to attack the Capital directly.

But not after building the bridge to cross the Azure River that split the Extreme Misty Forest in half, they courted disaster on the other side.

It was the outer region, which was considered the safest part of the forest. Any problem that could be solved by the Transcendent leading the group in this region was not considered a real problem.

But alas, a Perilous Land was, after all, a Perilous Land. Who knew that there was such a monstrous being in this region of the woods?

Only a few survivors from the Illusory Butterfly Sect was left. The monstrous being was still present, but they had all been rooted by extreme fear and could not escape.

The entire 20 thousand Durham soldiers were wiped out and the Grand Elder was even eaten whole.

That monstrous thing had the form of an angel, but when it ate the Grand Elder, it was like the devil that crawled out of hell! The survivors could not stop shivering as they recalled the sight.

Corpses piled like mountains as a heavy stench of blood filled the place. Some dangled in the air by silky red strings that could be seen hanging all over the surrounding trees. They were blood-soaked spider webs.

The Spider Queen Arachnia could be seen sitting on a mountain of corpses while gnawing on the bone of one of her victims with a disgruntled expression.

The bone was tossed to the side before she eyed the survivors coldly and said, "Tell me, humans, do you know what you did wrong?!"

The Spider Queen's flawless beauty, none of the survivors had the heart to admire as they trembled and shook with fear. "W-We shouldn't have intruded on your sanctuary…"

"Wrong!" Arachnia pointed to her collapsed hut and roared with fury, "I wouldn't give a shit if you were all just passing by, but you actually all had the galls to destroy the home that I went through great pains to build?! Speak! Where did you all come from?!

The survivors wanted to cry but no tears would flow. They had truly suffered an unjustified calamity. That shabby and dilapidated wooden hut already looked like it was going to collapse with a single gust of wind.

Who knew that it would actually collapse from a small bump while they were investigating it?!

"We… We come from the Illusory Butterfly Sect…"

Chapter 244 - Brigadier-General Dales

The battlefield at the outer rim of Azure Verdant Plains ended in a way no one expected. The sect members of both the Illusory Butterfly Sect and Bloodfiend Sect was dazed as they could not believe what happened.

The Grand Elder of Bloodfiend Sect, a fabled Transcendent had ultimately fled for his life only to be mercilessly chased and cut down in the end.

Perhaps, if the Blood Transcendent wasn't afflicted by the defects of the blood cultivation and had a stronger mentality, he would have been able to put up a bigger fight than dying like a pathetic dog.

Sword Master… The Queen was definitely a Sword Master! That was the explanation they could come up with for that unrivaled attack power!

Before Awakeners became mainstream, the path of the sword was the ultimate pursuit of strength.

However, it was easy to become one with the sword, but to produce sword intent was an enigma that baffled many even before the Cataclysm.

They knew it existed because few legendary figures have achieved it throughout history and their techniques were left behind for future generations, but none were ever successful.

The way of the sword was so profound it had become its own unique law, but the way of the sword was different for everyone.

The techniques the Sword Masters passed down was not to be replicated but to help others gain insight into their own sword intent.

Alas, none had ever realized it and believed the sword's path was too difficult, leading to its eventual decline for the more favored awakener's path.

The fate of the sect members was decided the moment the Blood Transcendent fell. Elizabeth took her time to clean up the battlefield as these evil cultivators resigned to their fates. It was useless to outrun a Transcendent.

After the sect members were all slaughtered, Elizabeth was at a loss when she looked at the surrendered soldiers that stuck around. What to do with them?

Aria and Lynne arrived shortly and paled at the bloody scene. The battle at the Tri-bridge paled in comparison to the death toll here. So, this is what the brutality of war is like? How terrible!

On the big battlefield stained by blood, there were many dead bodies amongst both surviving Crawford soldiers and enemy soldiers, but neither side was fighting.

Was the battle already over? Who won?

Soon, they found the Queen and made their over.

"M-Mother…"

"How come you're both here?" Elizabeth smiled with surprise.

"We heard the news and rushed back as quickly as we could to help, but…" Looking at the battlefield, it seems their help was not needed here.

The World Tree's appearance was unexpected, but the news of the Eastfell Region was most likely intended to draw them away. Thus, they had rushed back to the Queen instead of the Eastfell Region.

They were strong but they were only two inexperienced girls. It was better to finish the battle at Azure Verdant Plains then rush to support Eastfell Region.

Elizabeth nodded with approval when she heard their response. She was beginning to like these two daughters-in-law of her more and more.

Although an official wedding had yet to be held, she had already viewed them as her actual daughters-in-law. She was a traditional woman who views a woman's chastity as sacred.

Since that lascivious son of hers had already done the deed with them that should only be done in the nuptial chamber, she had already viewed them as husband and wives from then onwards.

How did she know they already did it? Well, rumors tend to fly in the Royal Palace. Even if she closed one ear, she would still hear with the other.

"You're both very thoughtful and your assistance is very timely. I suspect there is another enemy Transcendent leading an army through the cover of Extreme Misty Forest. They must be stopped, but the reinforcement sent to Eastfell Region lacks experts and will not be able to stop those evil sect cultivators hidden there. Are you both willing to head over there and assist them while I head north?"

Aria and Lynne looked at each other and decisively nodded, "Yes!"

"Great!" Elizabeth smiled. "I will assign a commander and some troops for you both to lead, but before that... What should we do with these surrendered soldiers?"

Their gazes all shifted to the Durham and Valaran soldiers at the scene. Many had fled but when they heard the Blood Transcendent was slain, they began making their way back to the battlefield.

They had nowhere else to go. They could not go back to their home kingdom. The sect had their eyes stretched everywhere there. They would be killed, but their families might not be spared. They were helpless and could only turn to the Queen for help.

"Your Majesty, we are willing to follow you. Please liberate the Durham Kingdom and save our families!" The Durham soldier stepped forward and pleaded.

Watching their actions, the Valaran soldiers also stepped forward and pleaded, "Your Majesty, we are also willing to follow you. Please liberate the Valaran Kingdom and save our families!"

Faced with the pleading of over 30 thousand soldiers, it was enough to make anyone's blood boil with emotion. Elizabeth found it hard to refuse, but she also had her own concerns.

30 thousand soldiers were not a small number. Where would she send them and how was she going to feed them?

After a quick contemplation, she made her decision. She will worry about feeding them later.

"The Bloodfiend Sect and Illusory Butterfly Sect will pay for their wickedness, but don't forget that you are all prisoners of war! If you want to join the Crawford Kingdom, don't just speak it, show it! Prove to me that you are worthy of being a part of my kingdom with your actions!"

The surrendered soldiers clenched their fist with determination. The Queen had given a chance to redeem themselves for the lives they had taken.

Soon, the surrendered soldiers were reorganized into the Crawford army and divided into three groups.

One was to follow the Queen north to locate the hidden enemy army, another would head south to Eastfell Region and the rest were to head to the destroyed base to salvage what they can and set up a new military base back in Grassland Region.

…

Great Wall, outskirts.

"We're here."

Dales said with a tearful expression as he looked up at the shining tall and majestic Great Wall that protected humanity from the beast invasion. He did not think it would be able to make it back.

At the side, the soldier, Tom had a similar tearful expression as he looked up at the Great Wall.

It was definitely because they were emotional and not because the strong reflective lights of the wall were burning their eyes out…

Elvengarde was wonderful and all but it was good to be home.

The Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn nodded without looking. They were not used to venturing outside the forest and certainly not used to the brightness of such intensity.

Even beasts usually steer clear from the wall during bright sunny days.

On top of the wall, the soldiers on watch duty naturally saw the four figures and already alert the garrisons and took to their battle stations, but they did not attack immediately.

These four figures look too much like humans to be humanoid beasts. In fact, they really are humans, aren't they?

"Who goes there?!" They sounded out by shouting over the walls.

"Commander Dales and Tom of the Thunderbird team. These two elves next to us are envoys of the Elven Tribe, Elvengarde, here to seek and negotiate friendly ties with our Crawford Kingdom." Dales shouted back.

The soldiers on the wall became silent for a while before Dales heard from the soldiers again.

"You're lying! Brigadier-General Dales fell battle three months ago!"

Since when was he a Brigadier-General? How come he hadn't heard about such a good thing?

Dales was confused, but then his expression abruptly changed as he recalled that only fallen soldiers get promoted two ranks during the memorial ceremony in the consolation of their service.

Dammit, how was being dead a good thing?!

"Bastards, are you cursing me?! I'm still alive for god's sake!" Dales gnashed his teeth with anger. He was still living quite well. How dare they kill him off like that!

The soldiers on the wall were startled by the angry roar and were at a loss for words. Was Brigadier General Dales really alive? They had never come across a situation where a fallen soldier they had pronounced dead was brought back to life.

Do we call him Commander Dales or Brigadier-General Dales? How do we verify his words?

"Go notify the General Marquis."

A commanding officer ordered to a soldier by his side, before the soldier nodded and headed off to find the general marquis.

…

Western Frontier, Military Camp.

On an open training field where soldiers normally do their regular physical drills, a crippled person was practicing wind manipulation to control the movements of his disabled limbs.

Although the movements were still shaky and not steady, showing that the person was still lacking in control, he had already proven that it was possible to move like an ordinary person with the support of wind manipulation.

By the side, the general marquis was quietly watching his son practice with both pride and sadness. No father would want their children to be disabled, but he was proud that his son was able to move forward.

Various things had happened back during the Capital's crisis, but Hendrick Graham had ended up finding his son on the outskirts of the Capital in the end and brought him back to the Western Frontier.

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard as a soldier arrived by the general marquis's side to report.

"What is it?" Hendrick Graham signaled for the soldier to speak without taking his eyes off his son.

"A person claiming to be brigadier-general Dales is outside the walls with two envoys of an Elven Tribe presumably, General."

Hendrick's body shook at the news and quickly turned to face the soldier agitatedly.

"What did you say? Say that again!"

Chapter 245 - Lustful Gazes

Dales' group did not have to wait too long. 10 minutes have passed when a figure could be seen floating in the air above the wall and gazing down at them. It was General Marquis Hendrick.

After Hendrick had confirmed that it was indeed Dales, he was ready to order the soldiers to lower the rope ladders, but he immediately hesitated after sweeping his gaze across one of the envoys of the Elven Tribe, the Supreme Elder to be exact.

It was the second time he felt such a strong presence from the Wildlands that could make him feel apprehensive. Although the Supreme Elder was casually standing, Hendrick could feel that this person was even stronger than the Skysilver Tribe's beast king.

However, it was just a moment of indecisiveness before the general marquis made his decision. Such a strong person coming a representative to seek friendly relations with their kingdom should be received with care and sincerity, not to mention the wall would seem like a joke to such a strong person if they did come with ill intentions.

"Lower the rope ladders."

"Yes, general."

The rope ladders tossed over the wall shortly and Tom immediately started climbing excitedly. Dales also made his way forward not before giving the two envoys an embarrassed look.

"This is usually how we enter the Human Domain when we are not traveling by airships. Please don't be offended by our crude methods of entering, but the wall was built with the idea of keeping anything from the Wildlands entering in mind."

"You don't have to worry about that."

The Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn looked at the rope ladder with interest, but the former had no intention of climbing, while the latter was prepared to give this new experience a go.

"Wait a moment, Princess."

The Supreme Elder stopped the Princess from attempting to climb with her untrained limbs.

'Princess?'

The General Marquis gawked and also realized that the crude method was rather inappropriate envoys of royal descent. He had about received them personally with his ability.

After gaining insights into the concept of wind and breaking through to the one-star ranked awakener level, his following cultivation had been smooth and without bottlenecks, steadily advancing to five-stars.

His cultivation speed was not inferior to those training with the aid of Heavenly Crystal when he cultivates in the sky above the wall where the wind was strong.

Sending the group of four over the wall would just be as easy as lifting one's hand at his current level, but before he could act, he witnessed something magical with amazement.

The Supreme Elder took out some unknown seeds from his grass-woven pouch and infused them with a green glow before sprinkling them on the ground by his foot.

The seeds immediately germinated alarmingly quick and sprouted strange vine-like roots that weaved around each other like a rope, followed by lively and big green leaves that looked solid and tenacious.

The Supreme Elder stepped on the new big leaf with the princess before the leaf platform lifted them up to the top.

After stepping off onto the wall, the bizarre tree shrank from the bottom up and reverted back into a seed that fell into the Supreme Elder's hand before being stored in his pouch again.

Everyone was amazed by the envoy's elven means as their gaze lingered on the pouch for a long time, but they soon had their breaths taken away by Princess Faelyn's otherworldly beauty.

"So beautiful…"

Cough*

The general coughed for them to snap out of there reverie as it was inappropriate to stare for so long.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the wall, Tom lost his excitement in climbing. He suddenly found rope ladder climbing to be tedious. Couldn't they have taken him up too?

Dales smiled wryly and continued to the climb.

After everyone reached the top, he was prepared to greet the general marquis when the latter gave him a big bear hug.

"It's good to know that you are still alive, Old Friend!"

Creak…

Dales could feel his bones protesting as he did his best to keep a straight smile, but his left eye twitched repeatedly while calmly forcing his words out.

"General, we can save the sentiments for later. The Envoys of Elvengarde are here."

"Ahem, right." Hendrick quickly recovered before turning to Supreme Elder with a smile and respectfully greeted, "I am General Hendrick, the one in charge of defending this region. We welcome your visit to the Western Frontier of our Crawford Kingdom. How may I address the both of your esteemed selves?"

"My tribesmen call me Supreme Elder, but you may call me Elder Haldir, and this is the fifth princess of Elvengarde, Princess Faelyn. We are grateful for your welcoming." The Supreme Elder said cordially.

Despite being the strongest present, he did not act overbearingly nor humbly. Without grasping the strength of the Human Domain, he did not want to cause unnecessary friction, but neither would he behave in a way that undermines his own status.

"It's our pleasure to make your acquaintance, Elder Haldir, Princess Faelyn." Hendrick greeted. "Before we continue, allow us to act as proper hosts and change the scenery to a more appropriate place for our talk, shall we?"

After exchanging short pleasantries, they moved to a more reserved spot where they could be seated and served tea.

The general marquis took the initiative to do a brief introduction to their background to avoid any future complications and misunderstanding.

The Crawford Kingdom was the guardian of the Human Domain, but they do not represent the entire Human Domain. Each kingdom was separated by a long distance that made it difficult to keep contact.

Ordinary people would take weeks to months to travel between kingdoms if they had no access to steam-powered transportations.

After the general marquis clarification, they moved onto the main topic, the alliance between Elvengarde and Crawford Kingdom.

The terms of their alliance include the exchange of information and culture, and to help each other in times of trouble.

Honestly, the general marquis wanted to agree to the alliance on the spot, but it was not his decision to make. He had to report back to the king and await the king's decision.

The situation in the Wildlands was something the Crawford Kingdom always hoped to understand and if they could get the help of someone of the Supreme Elder's caliber, they might be able to save many lives by putting an end to the war sooner.

However, the general marquis did not understand why the Elves were willing to ally with them. Did it have something to do with the big tree that appeared in the east of their kingdom?

As they moved to this topic, the Supreme Elder was quite honest and did not hide their intentions.

"We did seek your kingdom out for the World Tree that appeared in your kingdom, but more importantly, I've had a premonition that a great disaster is coming to this continent and the only way for the elves of Elvengarde to survive this disaster is to side with your kingdom. I am sure the general has also noticed the strange behavior of the beasts in recent times. I fear it would only continue to get worse."

The Supreme Elder's frankness naturally raised Hendrick's impression of the elves as he wore a warm smile throughout their exchange. But when the beasts were mentioned, the General Marquis became quite serious.

"Has any of the elves contracted the same symptoms as these berserk beasts?" Hendrick asked.

"None." The Supreme Elder shook his head, but he soon frowned at the question posed by the general marquis. "The General asked because…?"

"It's better if I just show you."

In a certain area of the Military Base's Research Department, there was a single reinforced cage with a single human researcher inside.

However, this human researcher had already lost his mind and had shown extreme animalistic behaviors, coupled with abnormal physical prowess to date as various scratches and dents could be seen in the cage.

After arriving and learning that the researcher became like that after accidentally inhaling an unknown source of energy that escaped from one the berserk beasts they had dissected for study, the Supreme Elder was shaken.

If humans could also be infected by this unknown energy, the elves would also not be an exception.

The Supreme Elder didn't know where the unknown energy came from, but the discovery filled him with dread and a greater sense of urgency to seal the deal on the alliance so he could start bringing the elves over to the Human Domain.

The unknown energy described by the humans sounded a lot like the red energy that has been appearing in the Wildlands in recent times.

"Regarding the alliance…"

"My sincerest apologies, Elder Haldir. Although I am in favor of the alliance, I cannot make that decision. I must trouble you and Princess Faelyn to make a trip with me to the Capital to meet the king before we can progress with the alliance." Hendrick immediately said apologetically.

As the defender of the west, it was his responsibility to confirm that the envoys came with genuine intentions as they proclaimed and did not come with malicious intent to do harm to their king and kingdom.

"No trouble at all." The Supreme Elder waved with a genial smile. "We had learned much while we were here, and our talk has been quite enjoyable, to say the least."

"Father, I would also like to accompany you and the esteemed envoys to the Capital." Rowan Graham arrived in a wheelchair and requested as he sneaked a peek at Princess Faelyn by the Supreme Elder's side with infatuation.

He had caught a glimpse of Princess Faelyn in passing earlier when they were sipping tea near the training field and he was immediately mesmerized by her beauty.

Hendrick frowned at his son's lack of consideration. In normal cases, he would have agreed, but as much as he hates to say it, it was disrespectful to the royal envoy to be escorted by a crippled even if he was just accompanying him.

However, Hendrick did not reject outright but turned to the Supreme Elder for an answer. "What does Elder Haldir think?"

"Hmm…"

The Supreme Elder naturally noticed the lust in the boy's eyes and frowned with disappointment.

The general marquis and his son were too different. One was valiant, heroic, and very mindful of his gaze, but the other? Haiz…

Princess Faelyn felt uncomfortable with such strong passionate gazes, but the other person was the general's son. They should at least give the general some face.

"He can come."

The Princess took the initiative to say out of respect, but Rowan was over the moon when he heard her sweet words and thought that she had a favorable impression of him despite his disability.

Hendrick silently sighed with disappointment that his son could not resist the charms of beautiful women, or rather… he had no resistance at all!

…

On a distant hill on the eastern outskirts of the Capital, Leon stopped to overlook the current state of the Capital and sighed with amazement at its changes.

After running at his greatest speed for twelve hours with two breaks in between, he had finally reached the Capital.

Traveling with others and traveling alone had such a great difference in time of arrival, but he was more amazed by his own improved stamina to keep up such running speed for so long.

Was this one of the benefits of tempering his meridians? What if he tempered his heart? Would his body become inexhaustible to physical exertion?

Maybe if he tempered his kidneys, he would also be inexhaustible in—Ahem, he just thinking nonsense.

Chapter 246 - I Need To Use Your Forge

Only a bit over two weeks have passed since Leon left for the underground expedition, but the Capital's rate of development was staggering and seemed to have increased exponentially.

The construction of the railway and strengthening of commoners via the breathing technique had indeed greatly boost productivity and work efficiency, but the greatest factor was not related to Leon.

The World Tree had only just started introducing spirit energy to the world. It would take some time before the spirit energy spread to the Capital.

Under normal circumstances, the most talented of miners had only reached the 3rd layer of the Body Tempering Realm. This had indeed boosted the acquisition of raw ores greatly, but half the contribution of raw ore acquisition was actually due to earth-users.

The power of Awakeners was practically designed for the development of human civilization. Any area of development that required manual labor could be substituted with the elemental manipulation of Awakeners.

During the time Leon was gone, the Capital had experienced a large increase in low-level Awakeners amongst the lower-class nobles.

Low-class nobles were different from many higher-class nobles and did not discriminate against commoners and were willing to work alongside them.

With earth-users and miners working in tandem, the greatest work efficiency was achieved in the acquisition of raw ores from the rich underground mineral deposit.

Leon could guess where these lower-class nobles got their Awakening pills. Dwight was an alchemist and the True Awakening Pill formula was left in their hands. He no longer needed to refine the pills for them as Dwight could do it himself.

He did not blame Dwight for making the formula known, he was only concerned that the increase in earth-element Awakeners would cause instability in the Capital's foundation and collapse it.

But his worries were for naught. If he could think like that, others could too.

In the underground, a large framework of steel beams was already being used to hold up the Capital.

Even without Awakeners, the excessing mining and hollowing of the underground would eventually lead to the instability of the structural integrity of the foundation and ultimately lead to a great tragedy if no preventative actions were taken.

Thinking back on the True Awakening Pills, Leon was a bit embarrassed about all the talk of demons, but he still felt like something was still amiss.

Few clues have pointed towards their existence, but not a shadow had been spotted nor had he found any more clues since then. Was he just overthinking and paranoid?

Leon shook his head and entered the Capital. He was famished after the long run and decided to settle his stomach first.

Recalling the Steakhouse in the Upper District, he made his choice. He could replenish his energy and enjoy good food. He found himself to be a big fan of steak.

…

"Ah, ahem. What would you like to order, esteemed customer?" The waiter, Mary was surprised to see Leon again after so long and slightly stuttered before asking.

She did not want to be unreasonable and bring up the previous matter. She thought the reason this customer had not visited their Steakhouse in so long was due to her attitude at that time. Thus, she was already content that Leon was willing to dine in at the Steakhouse again.

Looking at the familiar menu, Leon was hit with nostalgia as he reminisces on the past. Where was Teacher Lina now? He was told that she had left on a journey, but her parents did not know where to.

Leon did not dwell on it for too long, before he smiled and said, "I want 200-gram of this, this, and this, medium-rare with the Steakhouse special sauce and no sides, thanks."

A total of three dishes was ordered. Recalling the traumatic experience brought by overeating, he dared not to order too much again and toned down on the cut and dishes. He was only here for a quick feed.

After 15 minutes, the food was brought out one by one. They were all new dishes he had not tried before. There was quite a variety of beast meat on the menu.

This time, he was trying the meat of the Fierce Hyena, River Bison, and Mountain Stag. Nevertheless, he finished everything in 30 minutes. Pulling out a grey Transcendent Crystal and chewing on some wood-element herbs, began refining some more pseudo-Grandmist energy.

No matter how many times he visits the Steakhouse, he was still left amazed by the richness of energy retained in the cooked meat. The Royal Chef back in the palace was slightly inferior.

Nevertheless, after he was done, he called the waiter to pay the bill.

"That will be 6200 Craws, esteemed customer," Mary said, but she did not offer any hand to receive the Craw notes in Leon's hand. Instead, she puffed her chest pocket.

"You… want me to put it in there?" Leon asked with doubt.

"Just like the first time." Mary nodded as a red hue slightly crept on her face. Perhaps, she was being too shameless, but she wanted to experience it again.

"Just the first time?" Leon could not help but rub his forehead as he recalled with a guilty conscience.

"Exactly like the first time," Mary affirmed as the red hue became more evident.

"Um, alright…"

Leon understood and smiled wryly. Were all waiters this forward and daring? …Probably not.

At the corner of his eyes, he could see another waiter peeking over through the gaps of her hand covering her face with a flushed face. He could subtly hear the waiter gasping, 'Mary, you're so daring~ Fighting~!'

He slipped 7000 Craw notes into Mary's chest pocket and disappeared, but of course, not without copping a feel.

Mary shivered with pleasure and delight from Leon's magical touch before she looked at the 7000 Craw notes in her chest pocket and ran out of the Steakhouse to shout into the distance, "Thank you for patronage! Please come again!"

The Steakhouse was relatively empty, and business was not doing well since the Capital Crisis, but there were still a few old-time customers in the Steakhouse.

All sorts of hoots and whistles came from them in response to Mary's daringness as they teased her.

"Mary, the kitchen, now."

A casual aged voice of an old lady resonated from the kitchen and the commotion immediately died down as the old-time customers all turned respectful towards the voice. The old lady owner of Steakhouse did not seem happy.

Mary froze before making her way back to the kitchen with her head down. She snuck a peek at the old lady in the kitchen and gulped. She was definitely in trouble.

"Grandma…"

…

After leaving the Steakhouse, Leon headed to the Lancaster's workshop tower. He marveled at the changes of Upper North District along the way.

Ding, ding, ding!

The sound of hammering hot iron and steel could be heard resonating out of the workshop tower as he entered and found the Duke working amongst the other blacksmith, topless and soaking in sweat.

"Hoho, a rare guest has come to visit." Duke Ignis immediately spotted Leon and placed down his hammer to walked over and welcome Leon with open arms. "Come, give your father-in-law a hug first."

"Hold it right there!" Leon immediately stopped the Duke before contact was made.

"Hm? What's the matter?" The Duke frowned.

'What's the matter, you say? You are literally the embodiment of human sweat!' Leon mentally complained.

The workshop was humid and pumping with hot air, making anyone who had yet to adapt to the change in atmosphere uncomfortable.

Getting hugged by a sweaty and topless middle-aged man ripping with muscles shortly after would immediately multiply that uncomfortableness by hundreds fold!

"Are you looking down on me, boy?" The Duke grinned.

When the question was raised, the other blacksmiths also put down their hammer and looked over.

Leon could see that the Duke was not offended and was only joking. Recalling what he came to the workshop to do, he smiled wryly. "No, of course not. I wasn't ready."

Taking off his own top and showcasing his own lean muscles packed with hidden explosiveness, he puffed out his own chest with gritted teeth and said, "Now I am ready!"

The Duke took a moment to process before he burst into laughter. "Hahaha! That's the spirit! Come here!"

Leon was bear-hugged by the Duke and the feeling of sweaty skin coming into contact made his face twitched excessively.

After a while, he was released like a fresh inmate who had just graduated—Ahem, freed from prison.

"Alright, speak. What did you come for? You usually don't visit your in-laws without a reason." Duke Ignis said grudgingly that Leon came emptyhanded.

"I need to use your forge, father-in-law." Leon smiled and pulled a package of spirit-grade herbal tea leaves he had prepared beforehand and passed it over.

"Use my forge? Do you know how to? Hmph! Don't you know how busy it is around here? I don't have time to let you fool around and don't think you can buy me over just because you brought some gifts…" The Duke said as he accepted the package and looked inside.

"Oh, these are some good stuff! Ha? What was that? You wanted to use the forge? Haha, you sure can. You can use the one I was just using just over there." The Duke pointed happily.

Leon was speechless.

The Duke was sure quick to switch stance when he saw the contents of the gift. Even flipping a page might not be faster than this.

"Right, how was the underground trip? Any amazing discovery?" The Duke added, recalling that Leon had just taken the package of tea leaves out of thin air and related it to the gains of the underground trip.

"Of course. There was some amazing knowledge left down there and the solution to our runic bottleneck is all here." Leon pointed to his one head with a grin. "But first, let me forge a few items then I'll teach father-in-law what they're used for."

"Hmm… alright." The Duke decided to patiently watch Leon forge and find out exactly what he learned. The boy did not look like he was joking.

Duke Ignis was even prepared to give some guidance on the side, seeing Leon had taken an interest in forging.

Leon practically no longer cared about hiding the fact that he had an interspatial storage. Interspatial storage is only precious due to their extreme convenience and rarity, but once it has been mass-produced, its value will be diminished greatly.

He was prepared to make interspatial storages common like it is in the Divine Realm. Would people still fight over something they can buy with money? He was the only person who could make it and he was on his home turf. There was little for him to worry about.

Interspatial storages were indeed one of the few items he intended to forge and gift to the people around him, but it was not the first item he was intended to forge.

After a quick inspection of his soul core and found that it would still take another day for the merging process to be completed, he gave up thoughts of elemental manipulation and prepared to forge replicas of Ravenous Black manually with his father-in-law's assistance.

Ignis and Amelia had both reached a frightening level of perfection in their runic line drawing. The only thing they lacked was the tool to bring life to their runes.

Once that condition was met, the people can expect to see more airships and many more wondrous creations in the future.

Chapter 247 - Forging

The design of Ravenous Black had been inspected enough times for Leon to understand the ins and outs of Ravenous Black like it was the back of his hand.

A normal person would have had to dismantle the Ravenous Black to understand its complete design, but thanks to his divine sense, such trouble and risk were avoided.

Ravenous Black was the only Scribing Pen in his possession. If the functions stopped working as a result of his dismantling, he might just go neck himself.

The importance of a Scribing Pen was its functions, or in other words, the runes enchanted into it. The materials used to forge it was not all that important unless the designer intending for the Scribing Pen to also be used as a weapon.

Nevertheless, the materials should be decent since he was gifting the final product to his future in-laws. He needed to show some sincerity.

Heading over to the Duke's personal forge, he found the spare forging material at the side in a storage box of processed ingots. Leon found and selected Magisteel and Star Meteorite Iron or Star Meteorite for short.

Magisteel had had good conductivity with energy and was good for the engraving of his runic lines and circles, while Star Meteorite was the same as Black Iron in color appeal, except it was a grade higher in terms of toughness and was suitable outer shell of the Scribing Pen to give it that nice black sheen.

Maybe he was giving too much favoritism to blackness, but he felt black was good with almost anything.

"Father-in-law, I'm going to need your help with fire control." Leon requested after he selected the materials and tossed them in the smoking hot furnace.

"Hm?" The Duke became startled with an appalled expression upon realization. "Your cultivation… what happened?"

"Some stuff happened, and it can't be used currently, but it should be back to normal soon," Leon said wryly. The Duke's reaction was within his expectation.

The Duke was suspicious, but seeing Leon's nonchalance in such a sensitive topic, he decided to give the boy the benefit of the doubt. If the boy does not care about it, then it shouldn't be a big deal.

"Alright, what do you want to have me do, boy?"

"I need help speeding up the heating process. I will handle the rest." Leon said as he began familiarizing himself with the layout of the forge and location of all the tools.

"Hmm, alright."

The Duke didn't say much. He was intrigued by Leon's calmness as he was already preparing for the hammering process with a familiarity that did not seem to have been faked.

Within a few instances, the Duke has already begun to view Leon as someone with some experience in blacksmithing and not a complete amateur who was just looking to pick up blacksmithing for fun.

However, he held back on his complete evaluation until he sees for himself, how Leon was going to hold the hammer and temper the metal.

Many things can be determined by observing the precision, strength, and form of a person's hammering such as gauging the person's blacksmithing skill. It was also possible to predict the quality of the final product if one's insights were keen enough.

With the Duke's assistance, the metal ingots in the furnace quickly reached the perfect state for tempering within mere moments.

Leon immediately fished the ready-hot Magisteel and Star Meteorite ingots out of the furnace with large tongs and settled them on the anvil.

At the side, the Duke straightened his back and was ready to observe and offer pointers to Leon like a veteran blacksmith when mistakes are spotted.

However, when Leon picked up the hammer, his aura changed so abruptly that the Duke was completely flabbergasted. Duke Ignis had the illusion that what he was looking at was not a boy new to blacksmithing but an old veteran blacksmith with decades of experience.

This change in aura was brought by the memories of Leon receiving the inheritance in the time chamber dreamscape as he got serious upon holding the hammer.

Twanggg!

The first strike landed on the red-hot Magisteel!

Duke Ignis immediately snapped out of his stupor and sighed with relief as the illusory image was shattered with the first hammer strike.

He thought it was fortunate that Leon was not as monstrous as he had imagined. It was not good for his heart.

A few mistakes were spotted in the first strike of tempering, no matter how minor it was. the boy's form was good but there was some awkwardness in the execution that caused a drop in precision and failing to perfectly channel all the force in the metal. The strength used was also slightly higher than necessary.

A smile crept on Duke Ignis's face as he thought this was his time to shine. Offer a few pointers and gain the boy's respect as a peak expert in the field.

However, when he was about to point out Leon's mistake, he saw the latter frowned and the following scene made him froze.

Twangg! Twang! Twang!

Consecutive blows struck the hot Magisteel with growing improvement. Each blow was better than the last! By the strike, there were no more mistakes!

There was no hint of awkwardness in the execution, an appropriate level of strength was used, and no force was wasted as it was all absorbed. It was a perfect tempering strike!

With Leon's perceptiveness, he had noticed the discrepancy between memory and body. The skill might be ingrained in the mind, but the body had yet to be attuned.

However, with a few strikes, the problem was fixed.

The Duke was left with his finger awkwardly hanging.

Twang! Twang! Twang!

Each consecutive strike after was filled with perfection and was like a blow to his heart. He almost had a mental breakdown with flowing tears.

It had taken him five years of hard training before he achieved such a level of mastery in tempering metal, while this son-in-law was able to master it in a few strikes after disappearing for two weeks. There was no justice in the world.

"Hm? Is something wrong, father-in-law?"

"N-No..."

Leon continued onwards with the process of forging all the parts of the Scribing Pen.

…

"So, this is the Capital of the Crawford Kingdom…"

In the skies, not far from the Capital, an airship was quickly approaching with speed incomparable to ordinary airships.

On the deck of the airship, the Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn were gazing down from the front deck, while being accompanied by the general marquis and his son on a wheelchair, who held onto the side rails to prevent himself from rolling to the back.

The two envoys weren't necessarily impressed by the capital city itself, but the place was thriving, and they intrigued by the difference in human architecture.

"En, we will soon be docking at Lancaster Workshop Tower. Do the esteemed envoys wish to tour the workshop, or quickly continue onwards to meet our king?" General Marquis Hendrick inquired out of courtesy.

Princess Faelyn's interest was immediately piqued as a person who was curious toward anything new. She glimpsed at the Supreme Elder before she responded.

"Can we? Since we will be stopping there anyway, it won't hurt to take a quick look."

"Erm, this general will make the request upon docking. The workshop has been in quite a busy period so there might be a chance of it being rejected."

Hendrick did not think elves would be interested in seeing smoking hot metal and puffing steam as he smiled wryly. Erm, the current human understanding of elves in picture books seems to be incorrect.

His face was quite big, but they most likely are restricted only a few levels to tour as other places might be too confidential for foreigners to access.

…

"It's done."

Leon said excitedly as he wiped his sweat after drawing the last runic line on each individual piece he had forged in the last two hours.

The Duke was quite curious when Leon had taken the Ravenous Black out to engrave the runes. When Leon explained it was what they needed to bring runes to life, the Duke wasn't able to close his gaping mouth in surprise for a long time.

In front of them, on the metal bench, two sets of Scribing Pen parts were laid out.

After Leon was done with engraving the runic lines with the purple liquified energy that oozed out of Ravenous Black, he began to assemble the pieces together to form the two complete Scribing Pens.

With the Duke's finishing touches, the two Scribing Pens were perfectly welded and would not fall apart into separate parts again.

The two Scribing Pen shared similar appearance to Ravenous Black, except a different colored-jewel was embedded on each one.

After rubbing the runic circles on the nib, the runes came to life and they only needed to be left in the sun for the improved energy conversion function to start gathering and transforming solar energy in improved-artificial-spirit energy, before being condensed and stored in the hollow jewels.

Since the products were completed, Leon immediately gifted them to the Duke. "Father-in-law, these are for you and Mother-in-law."

The Duke accepted them with glee and wonder since he already been explained of their functions, but he still doubted whether these so-called Scribing Pens would actually allow them to finally succeed in recreating a working levitation stone.