397-406

Chapter 397 - Undead Battle Kings

Some further distance away, Ironfist's expression turned gravely paled at the sight of carnage. The two huge figures ripped through the Great Warriors with their towering bodies like they were squashing ants.

No one could be hidden from them!

"Undead Battle Kings! Oh, my god! Those two are Liches! And they actually revived the dead Battle Kings in the catacombs and turned them into undead beings! F*CK, F*CK, F*CK! Everyone, run if you don't want to die!" Ironfist roared.

"Arghhh!"

"Nooo! Don't kill me!"

The Great Warriors immediately fled for their lives after Ironfist issued his warning. However, none of them escape the clutches of death.

The Undead Battle Kings clawed through their bodies and ripped their bodies to shreds like a hot knife through butter, scattering blood and gore everywhere.

The strength and speed of Battle Kings were unmatched, even when they are undead!

The two Liches walked down the bloodied streets of carnage like they were taking a stroll in the park. The horrifying screams, and pain of humans were like music to their ears.

"Don't kill them all. I told you to play with them! How are we supposed to collect negative energy if you don't make them suffer and taste despair?" The left Lich chided its Undead Battle King.

The right Lich turned to the direction of its own Undead Battle King and instructed, "The same goes for you too! You can drink their blood and feast on their flesh, but not now! You need to torture them and make them understand the meaning of fear, got it?!"

"Don't let any of them escape!"

Two incense worth of time quickly passed and what was left in the Blackwind Tribe Ruins were the scattered corpse pieces of the Great Ironhawk Tribe people. The 3000 strong group of humans was quickly decimated by the two Undead Battle Kings.

As the Undead Battle Kings crouched over on the side while munching on the flesh of the corpses like rabid animals, the two Liches watched them with a slight frown.

"A few humans managed to get away in the end, but no matter. We managed to collect quite a fair bit of negative energy." Said the left Lich.

The right Lich nodded, "Our Lord will reward us handsomely for sure, but I think we can do better before returning."

"Oh?"

The left Lich was immediately intrigued.

"You mean…"

"Yes, why don't we pay a visit to the human settlements and play around for a bit. As long as we don't push them too far, they will not wake their Battle Kings to hunt us down."

"This is a dangerous game you're planning to play, but I like it. If we collect enough negative energy, maybe the Lord will bless us with some of his higher comprehension of the Death Law."

"That's true. Well, what are we waiting for? Let us go!"

The other Lich nodded and kicked its Undead Battle King before saying, "Let's go. I'll take you somewhere else to play."

…

Many hours later, Ironfist managed to flee far from the Blackwind Tribe Ruins. He did not know which direction he had escaped and just kept running for his life.

After exhausting his stamina and stumbling to the ground, he finally looked back. He heaved a sigh of relief when he only saw two other warriors crashing to the ground in exhaustion without any Undead Battle Kings in sight.

'What a disaster.'

Ironfist thought.

They should have never come here. They had lost 3000 brothers just like that. This was not a small number, even for the Great Ironhawk Tribe.

There were many Mid-rank Great Warriors and High-rank Great Warriors within the group. Now all that was left of the group was the three of them, Extremity-rank Great Warriors.

"Brother Ironfist, I don't think I can keep going anymore. I am completely exhausted. Do you think we are safe?" Said an Extremity-rank Great Warrior.

"Nowhere is safe here." Ironfist sighed.

"Even if we escape the pursuit of the Liches and Undead Battle Kings, it is only temporary. If they are bent on hunting us down to the last man, they will eventually catch up. We need to keep going…"

"I cannot keep going, Ironfist. Just go without me. We abandoned 3000 brothers back there. Even if we return to the Great Ironhawk Tribe, the chief will not spare us. If I die here, so be it. My body refuses to move."

The Extremity-rank Great Warrior consigned himself to whatever fate had in store for him. He was just too tired to keep going.

"Honestly, my body won't move either, but we need to. Even if it's not for ourselves, we need to deliver the news out there. People need to know what happened at the Blackwind Tribe—" Ironfist said with a heavy sense of responsibility.

"What happened at the Blackwind Tribe?"

A person interjected abruptly.

Ironfist was immediately startled and turned his head forcefully in the direction of the source, albeit slowly.

Chief Baskara walked out from behind a small rocky hill. Further back behind the rocky hill, another 5000 strong warriors were closing in quickly as the rumbles of their footsteps were soon heard.

"You are…?"

Ironfist asked with a dubious expression. He had yet to see the army, but he could hear the heavy footsteps gradually getting louder. As such, when he glanced at Chief Baskara's imposing stature, he guessed that this was someone important.

"It does not matter who I am. What matters is who you are, and what were you talking about regarding the Blackwind Tribe." Said Chief Baskara imposingly, demanding an answer to his question.

"If we tell you, would you take us away from here and allow us to join your tribe?" The other Extremity-ranked Great Warrior asked.

Chief Baskara flashed the person a glanced and domineeringly said, "You do not have the right to negotiate."

Even without them speaking, Chief Baskara could already guess that the three people sprawled on the ground are part of the so-called vagabond group headed to Blackwind Tribe.

He was curious what could have happened to their group that three Extremity-rank Great Warriors would look so pathetically like this.

"We are from the Great Ironhawk Tribe that lies in the central region to the north. I hope you can bring us far from here. The further, the better. The longer we stay here, the more dangerous it will be for everyone." Ironfist helplessly said.

Chief Baskara furrowed his brows and said in a deep tone, "You still have not finished answering my question. What happened in the Blackwind Tribe that the three of you would end in such states?"

"There were two Greater Demon Liches. However, their threat is nothing compared to the two Undead Battle Kings they revived from the catacombs." Ironfist answered with a bitter look.

Chief Baskara's expression slightly stifled before his gaze became considerably serious and repeated for confirmation, "Undead Battle Kings?"

The 5000 warriors following Chief Baskara shortly arrived. When they overheard his words, they immediately jumped with fright.

"What? Did you just say Undead Battle Kings?" Asked a warrior abruptly.

When Chief Baskara glanced over with his serious gaze, the warrior was quickly startled and apologized, "Sorry for the abruptness, chief. But I heard there were Undead Battle Kings?"

"You didn't hear wrong."

Chief Baskara's brows furrowed and redirected his gaze onto Ironfist before asking, "Are you sure there were Undead Battle Kings?"

"Definitely! What else can destroy our 3000-strong army so effortlessly while we can only be killed helplessly one after the other? If the Liches did not make the Undead Battle Kings play around, none of us would have made it out alive at all."

Ironfist sighed.

It was truly a desperate moment for them.

Chief Baskara quickly made a decision and said to the warrior beside him, "Inform everyone that we will be returning to the tribe. Also, get someone to carry these three men back with us."

"Chief, are we really going to believe the words of these people? What if it is a delay tactic to scare us aware while their people escape with the loots they took from the Blackwind Tribe?" Asked the warrior.

"Naturally, I do not believe them, but I will also not risk the lives of 5000 tribesmen for such a reason. Although Undead Battle Kings are not as strong as when they were alive, they are still powerful Greater Demons that is not far from the Archdemon level."

Chief Baskara shortly called, "Is Swiftwind here?"

"You asked for me, chief?" Swiftwind stepped forward and answered.

"You are amongst the quickest of the Great Warriors I know. Are you willing to make a trip to the Blackwind Tribe and scout the area for me? This is not an order but a request. I know this will be a perilous mission if what these people said is true. However, I still need someone to confirm, lest we be fooled by our enemies. Will you do it?" Chief Baskara asked.

Swiftwind silently mulled over the chief's words before he quickly made an important decision and firmly nodded, "I will do it!"

Chief Baskara nodded with a gratified look, "Thank you, Swiftwind!"

After speaking a few more words to Swiftwind, Chief Baskara passed a voice transmission tool to him before watching him departed from the group.

Sometime later, he glanced at the rest and said, "Let us return!"

Chapter 398 - Visiting Fragrant Tea Abode

Inside the bedroom of Barrenrock Courtyard, Chief Valencia sat on the bed and listened to Darlene's recount of the events between her and Leonhardt.

"Alright, that is enough. Continue to monitor him and use the voice transmission tool to contact me when you have something new to report." Chief Valencia said.

"Yes, chief."

Darlene answered emotionless like she was a puppet. She had recounted to Chief Valencia about how much she had done it with Leonhardt when they were together.

Whether it was in the palace or here in the Barrenrock Courtyard, their time together was filled with nothing but lascivious actions and carnal pleasure.

Chief Valencia had listened to so much of Darlene's detail pleasurable experience recount that she became sick and tired of hearing more. She wanted to end the report there and return to the palace at once.

Outside of Barrenrock Courtyard, Leon was seen leaning against the back wall with his eyes closed. After leaving the courtyard, he did not go far before circling back to the backside to eavesdrop against the wall.

'I cannot let my guard down anywhere, can I?'

Leon thought amusedly with a smile before opening his eyes and left the area to look for Master Woodrow. He had heard enough.

Chief Valencia was truly not simple. Leon could fathom the depth of her intelligence network within the Darkmoon Tribe. Nevertheless, he was right to assume that everyone in the tribe could be her ears and eyes.

If he had not returned to the courtyard, he would not have been able to confirm that Darlene was a spy that Chief Valencia had planted by his side. Nevertheless, he had been suspicious since that night he passed out from drinking.

Even so, that lass was not bad. That girl did not tell the chief everything. Although he felt weird having his intimate moments with Darlene exposed to the chief, at least that lass did not mention her training and power over space.

All that effort into doting on her was not in vain.

He will continue to influence her and make her someone entirely on his side while pretending that he does not know anything. Only by keeping his cards hidden would he have more cards to play.

Shortly after strolling around the streets of Darkmoon City and asking people for directions, Leon finally arrived in front of Fragrant Tea Abode sometime later, the place Master Woodrow once mentioned previously.

The Fragrant Tea Abode contained three floors and was divided into two parts. The front was a tea store, while the back was his private residential home.

"Welcome to Fragrant Tea Abode, Young Master Leonhardt. How may I help you today? Are you here for tea, or are you here to look for Master Woodrow?" The female waiter greeted Leon at the entrance.

Leon studied the pretty female waiter who appeared to be another person with Void Body, feeling inwardly alerted.

"How do you know who I am?"

"Young Master Leonhardt sure knows how to joke. Everyone in the Darkmoon Tribe knows who Young Master Leonhardt is after your benevolent act of treating the wounded warriors after the battle ended." Responded the pretty female waiter and gave Leon an alluring smile like she was trying to seduce him.

Leon shook his head ruefully, thinking he might be overthinking. The pretty female waiter did have a point. His appearance was quite unique and easily recognized unless he decides to have a change of clothes.

She might not be another person under the chief, but it was too early to rule out that possibility.

"I'm here to see Master Woodrow. Is he available?" Leon asked.

"Understood, Young Master Leonhardt. I will go and inform Master Woodrow of your visit. Would you like to take a seat inside and try some of our fine tea while you wait?" The pretty waiter suggested.

"Sure." Leon nodded.

"Right this way then, Young Master Leonhardt." The pretty female waiter gestured with her hand for him to follow her.

After Leon followed the female waiter inside the tea store and took his seat on the third floor by the balcony where there were fewer people and better scenery, the female waiter left promptly to find Master Woodrow.

Leon glanced at the regular teapot on the table curiously before pouring himself a cup and have a taste of the standard tea.

The taste was ordinary and had no peculiarities about it, but that was a peculiarity in and of itself. The land was too barren to grow tea leaves.

Wherever the tea leaves were procured, it was not within the Infertile Plains, not unless a unique biome was set up to grow them. But that would also require the procuration of the tea tree in the first place.

While Leon was guessing the origin of the tea, Master Woodrow shortly made his way over in a jovial manner, "Hahaha, Little Brother Leonhardt has finally decided to visit me. I am honored. How can I let you drink our Fragrant Tea Abode's standard tea? Nora, go prepare the premium tea for our special guest."

"Yes, master."

Nora curtsied.

She gave Leon a suggestive wink before swaggering off with her shaking hips to carry out Master Woodrow's order and prepare the premium tea.

Apparently, the name of the pretty waiter was Nora.

Leon smiled wryly and said, "Brother Woodrow should really try to control your servants. This Nora girl has been giving me suggestive hints. If I am not getting the wrong message, I would think that she wants me to f*ck her."

"Hahaha, if Little Brother Leonhardt fancies this little servant of mine, I don't mind giving her to you. Actually, I implore Little Brother Leonhardt to take her away." Master Woodrow pleaded.

"Oh? Why would Brother Woodrow say that? I'm not interested in loose women, however." Leon waved his hand and refused.

"Believe it or not, she is still a virgin. I have not touched her once since I took her in. It has been quite the torturous experience having her around, and I would be more than happy if you take her away." Master Woodrow sighed.

While mentioning this, Master Woodrow seemed to have aged a few years due to stress. Leon noticed this and became curious about what exactly Master Woodrow experienced.

"It seems like Brother Woodrow is someone with a story to tell," Leon said with an amusing smile.

"Haiz…" Master Woodrow sighed before he looked at Leon seriously and asked, "What do you think men fear the most in this world?"

"Huh?"

Leon was slightly taken aback by the question. He did not expect Master Woodrow to suddenly ask this question. However, since Master Woodrow asked him seriously, he should also do his best and answer it seriously.

'What do men fear the most in this world?'

Leon creased his brows and pondered for a moment. This seemed like a pretty broad topic with no right and wrong answers.

Men fear many things in life, such is normal for humans to be. Only by overcoming those fears will they become strong men.

However, Leon understood that Master Woodrow was seeking a specific answer. Thus, he should be thinking, 'What does Master Woodrow fear the most in this world?'

Master Woodrow was a Witch Doctor and a highly respected Venerable Shaman in the Darkmoon Tribe. There should not be many things he would fear. What could it be, he wonders?

Master Woodrow watched Leon ponder the question very seriously while pouring himself a cup of standard tea before he shook his head.

"Ahem," He cleared his throat with an awkward cough and said, "It's not supposed to be a difficult question. No need to ponder too deeply into it and give me a simple answer."

"Oh?"

It seems that Leon was looking into it too deeply. Thinking back, he collected the clues. Nora was still a virgin despite her flirtatious behavior, and the question was something all men fear most in the world…?

"I suppose all men fear being impotent the most?" Leon answered honestly.

Pfttt!

Master Woodrow took a sip of his tea when he heard Leon's answer, causing him to spit everything out to the side before coughing profusely. After he recovered, he wiped his mouth.

"Excuse me?"

"Err… is it not?"

"Ahem, well… you are not exactly wrong, but it is not quite the answer I was looking for." Master Woodrow said with embarrassment.

When he thinks about it, he did give off the impression he was impotent. It was not strange for Leon to arrive at this answer.

"Why don't Brother Woodrow enlighten me?"

"Wife, it's wife. Men fear their wives the most in the world." Master Wood said seriously like it was the absolute truth in the world.

Leon smiled wryly and said, "I'm afraid I cannot relate, but it seems that Brother Woodrow's wife has quite the strong leash on you."

"Haiz…"

Master Woodrow sighed. No matter how great his status was, he could not even beat his own wife. It was normal for men to have multiple wives and lovers; his wife was not one who liked to share her man.

"Little Brother Leonhardt does not need to understand it now, but you will understand it one day. Women have such frightening talents for twisting words in their favor. You can be right, but you will also be wrong. In short, you can never beat them in an argument. However, the most frightening part is when you commit a mistake. You can apologize for it, but if you don't know what you did wrong, they will give you literal hell until you do."

Master Woodrow had a disheveled look like he had been significantly tormented by these experiences, as he was explaining.

"And if the problem is not settled early, they will bring up several mistakes from the past that you have no idea about and make you feel guilty and miserable." Master Woodrow added.

Leon was amused, but he felt like he should keep a note of Master Woodrow's experience.. It might prove to be helpful later in the future.

Chapter 399 - Scan Them All!

Leon continued to chat casually with Master Woodrow and learned about the drama revolving around Master Woodrow and his wife. He understood why it was torturous to have someone like Nora around.

No matter how Master Woodrow was, he was still a man. To take in a pretty servant but not being able to touch was indeed quite torturous, especially when the latter is willing and tries all manners of seduction to arouse Master Woodrow.

Leon shook his head. This was Master Woodrow's problem. He did not want to take a dip in these muddled waters. There was no telling whether Nora was another one of Chief Valencia's secret chess pieces for collecting intelligence or not.

Sometime later, the pretty waiter Nora brought out the premium tea and served Leon and Master Woodrow each a cup. "Your premium tea, master, Young Master Leonhardt." She said.

Master Woodrow nodded and quickly tried to dismiss her. Nora could only bow and comply with her master's wish. She left to serve other customers.

"By the way, I doubt Little Brother Leonhardt have come all this way just to see this old man. What does Little Brother Leonhardt need?" Master Woodrow brought up the main topic of Leon's visit.

"I heard you keep a collection of books for study purposes. I was wondering if I could also peruse them if it is not too much to ask?"

"Oh? Little Brother Leonhardt has an interest in perusing ancient books? I do have a collection of books, but they are mostly written in an ancient dialect. It is not a problem at all to let Little Brother Leonhardt view them, but I'm afraid it won't be easy for you to understand. Is Little Brother Leonhardt still interested in perusing them?"

"Of course."

Leon stated straightforwardly.

"Very well, I will take Little Brother Leonhardt there later. But first, why don't you taste my store's premium tea and tell me what you think?" Master Woodrow suggested.

Leon nodded. He picked up the teacup and twirled the tea in his hands before bringing it close to study the tea's aroma. After that, he finally took a sip.

The tea's warmth quickly traveled to his stomach before spreading to all parts of his body, giving him a relaxing feeling while his mind became clear.

"This tea should have undergone the same process as the standard tea. However, the taste and effects of the teas are vastly different." Leon commented as he rubbed the teacup with his thumb in thought.

"That's right, but can Little Brother Leonhardt tell why it is vastly different?" Master Woodrow further pressed Leon to elaborate.

It was the same tea leaves, same preparation, same brewing process, but the taste and effect were wholly different. This could only mean one thing.

"It's the age."

Leon shrugged.

It was just like the difference between ordinary herbs and spirit herbs; the effects between the two were heaven and earth apart.

The tea leaves used to prepare the premium tea were slightly different from commonly grown Camellia sinensis. If Leon had to guess, he would say that it had been mutated.

Thus, even if it was not a spirit plant, it will still bring out a surprising effect due to its age. Nevertheless, this type of tea was not purely beneficial as there were some toxins in them. However, this was also negligible because of the warrior's resilient bodies.

"Sure enough, someone adept in the art of healing like Little Brother Leonhardt would be very perceptive and see through the herbal properties of the tea."

Master Woodrow and Leon continued to chat until they finished the premium tea.

Leon learned that the premium tea was called the Tea of Clarity. It was very effective in rousing awake the people under the influence of the Weeping Forest's hallucinations.

"Alright, I shan't keep Little Brother Leonhardt here any longer. Let us head over to my book collection area." Master Woodrow said.

Leon smiled and said, "I was just waiting for Brother Woodrow to say these words."

They made their way to the back of Fragrant Tea Abode's third floor and stopped before an ordinary wooden shelf holding various small objects of interest such as sculptures and rare mineral oddities.

Master Woodrow pulled on a candle holder at the side of the shelf like a lever, and the bookshelf clicked opened, revealing a secret room filled with ancient scrolls and books.

"Here we are. This is the entirety of my book collection." Master Woodrow introduced.

Leon's eyes immediately flickered with interest as he gazed upon the ancient scrolls and books glittering with a rare shine of gold. These scrolls and books appeared to be more ancient and extraordinary than what he was hoping for.

He was expecting them to be a few hundred to thousands of years old, but they appeared to be far, far older than that.

"What does Little Brother Leonhardt think of it?" Asked Master Woodrow.

Leon picked up a scroll made of unknown lustrous white wood and opened it to study while asking, "These look incredibly ancient, yet at the same time, they have been preserved well and not worn by time thanks to the material they are made from. Where did Brother Woodrow get these from? These scrolls and books must be at least several millions of years old, if not older."

The texts on the white scroll were written in a pure runic language and seemed to be filled with ancient power.

Leon immediately understood why the Infertile Plains people were more advanced in the study of runes than the Human Domain. They had uncovered a more profound heritage from the ancient past.

Each runic word was still filled with energy running through their lines. They were nothing like the ones from the Nova civilization that had been dried up and devoid of power.

"Hahaha, several millions of years old is an understatement. They are possibly several hundred million to billions of years old. No one can precisely guess how old they are thanks to the runic power preserving their conditions."

Leon was slightly surprised before he nodded, "I've also noticed this, but I guess I was still too conservative with my estimation."

"O-ho? So Little Brother Leonhardt does have some knowledge in runes. You sure are multi-talented for your age." Master Woodrow smiled wryly.

All of Leonhardt's peers would have been put to shame if they were to compete with this monster. He was lucky to not be born in the same generation.

Master Woodrow shook his head bitterly at his own thoughts before proceeding to explain, "These were all unearthed in the ruins down south in the land of darkness beyond the Darkness Mountain. It was our ancestors that guesstimated them to be up to billions of years old."

"The land of demons, huh?" Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

He had yet to learn much about the land of darkness and the demons that reside there. Perhaps, the Crimsonfog Tribe would know more about this topic.

"Precisely. It was not easy to procure these ancient items from there, so I do hope that Little Brother Leonhardt will handle them with care while perusing them. Also, if Little Brother Leonhardt learns something from these ancient scrolls and books, I hope you can also share your insight with this older brother."

"Naturally." Leon nodded before asking, "Is Brother Woodrow leaving?"

"Un, this older brother still needs to go back and tend to his plants." Said Master Woodrow. In fact, he was middle of it before Leon visited.

"Is Brother Woodrow not afraid I will run off with all of these scrolls and books while you are not around?" Leon said jokingly with an amused look.

Master Woodrow blanked for a moment before he waved his hand and left with a laugh, "Hahaha, not afraid!"

It was not even a question of trust. Only a foolish person would attempt such a thing, and Master Woodrow believed Leonhardt was not such a person.

Leon shook his head wryly after Master Woodrow was gone. But after a moment, he could not contain the excitement in his heart.

The ancient books and scrolls before him were most likely from the primordial era of gods and devils. There was a high chance of godly cultivation methods, techniques, and battle skills within the batch.

'Maya, quickly scan all of these and make a copy in the Archive for me!' Leon immediately urged the artifact spirit resting in the Worldspace.

"Hm?"

Maya lazily laid on top of a mountain of books with an opened book covering her face from the artificial sun in the Worldspace.

She frowned and said, "You are still too weak for me to acknowledge you as my master. You do not have the right to tell me what to do."

'Haiz, who cares about that? Didn't you want some books to read? I got a bunch of books and scrolls here. Who knows, maybe there be some novels among them?' Leon transmitted his thoughts to Maya.

After hearing this, Maya was immediately roused awake.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Chapter 400 - Translated Heritage

After receiving Maya's cooperation, Leon began to hover his hands over the scrolls and books within the secret room as light shot out from his palm to scan them.

Sometime later, all the scrolls and books within the secret room were successfully copied and stored in the Archive.

Maya was the first to connect to the Archive to search the newly recorded information and pick out a book for herself to read. However, after a moment, she was quickly angered.

"What the hell? Where there is not a single novel here! They are cultivation techniques and battle skills! Leon, how dare you trick me?!" Maya threw a tantrum.

Leon laughed and said, "Oh, is that so? That is unfortunate. How did I trick you? I said there might be novels among them. I did not say that there are. It is you who believe that there was. But seeing how certain you are, it seems you can read them all?"

"So, what about it?" Maya pouted with puffed cheeks in her child form.

"Can you translate them for me?"

"No!"

Being rejected so firmly by Maya, Leon could only smile wryly.

Although he understood the reason for her behavior, he could not help but feel that she was becoming more like a child despite her archaic age. He remembered that she still needed an astronomical amount of energy to fully recover.

Leon shook his head.

That aside, with his strong foundations in the runic knowledge, it was still possible for him to translate the ancient runic text. However, the difference between him and Maya translating the ancient text is worlds apart in efficiency.

Maya would be able to complete everything within a few breaths while he would need to take time translating rune for word one by one before guessing the overall meaning of each passage.

Leon entered the Whitespace and accessed the Archive before picking out a random scroll from the pile of new copies recorded.

However, the moment he opened the scroll, he was surprised to find that it was not written in the runic language he was expecting but the ancient language used by the denizens of the Divine Realm.

"Maya, this is…"

"Hmph."

Leon smiled and said no more. The artifact spirit was surprisingly cooperative. Although she said one thing, she did another.

He started to suspect whether the reason she refuses to teach him better techniques is actually because she had lost most of her memories and did not remember any other good techniques to teach him.

Leon quickly refocused his attention on the scroll.

The original scroll was made of white wood, and the runic texts were written in the blood of an unknown beast that was possibly a God beast if the scroll truly belonged to the primordial era of gods and devils.

Although what he was looking at now was just a copy made of energy, the Archive was able to replicate the aura of the original source. Thus, the black scroll written in blood exuded an extraordinarily ancient aura.

[Immortal Meridian Tempering].

Leon immediately glowered with interest. Just the word 'Immortal' in its name alone was enough to make it sound extraordinary.

"Sure enough, these techniques are actually from the primordial era of gods and devils! This is one hell of a discovery! This one is a body forging method for meridian tempering. The main requirement is… True Grandmist Energy?"

Leon furrowed his brows slightly before browsing the other books and scrolls.

[Everlasting Blood Mantra]

[Indestructible Bone Transformation Method]

[Archaic Flesh Refining Technique]

[Godfiend Body Forging Method]

[Divine Soul Refinement]

[Star God's Finger Art]

[Overlord Spear Art]

[Sun God's Fiery Dance]

[Devil Emperor's Tome of Darkness]

[Ice Phoenix's Frozen Calamity]

…

He found numerous body, soul, and energy cultivation methods, techniques, battle skills belonging to both gods and devils. He took a quick scan through each one of them and found two common points.

"All these methods, techniques, battle skills have a fundamental requirement for True Grandmist Energy before it can be practiced… Moreover, all of them are incomplete… I cannot find a single complete method, technique, or battle skill."

Leon frowned.

Some contained two to three volumes out of five volumes. Some even went up to the seventh volume, but all the previous volumes were missing from the collection.

When Leon narrowed it down, only three books were left containing the first volume.

[Godfiend Body Forging Method]

[Devil Emperor's Tome of Darkness]

[Star God's Finger Art]

"Just these three, huh?" Leon began musing with a pondering look, "I wonder if pseudo-Grandmist Energy can be substituted to practice these methods."

In theory, it should be possible. The only downside is that the effect would not be as significant as recorded within the methods.

"I should give it a try when I find a quiet and secluded place to cultivate. For now, I should return." Leon decided.

He checked on the condition of the unconscious Lumi inside the Worldspace before returning his consciousness to the outside world.

During this time, his body had been standing still with an opened book in his hand while his dull eyes stared at the opened book intensely like he was in a trance.

In the next moment, light returned to his eyes as his spirit finished returning.

Leon glanced around and found out that no one was still around. He was still alone in the secret room. He closed the book and placed it back in its original spot before making his exit from the room.

This trip had been an unexpected windfall.

'If I could obtain the complete volumes, that would be even better... It seems I will also need to pay a visit to the other Venerable Shamans and make formal requests to view their book collections. Still, I cannot get over the fact that there is actually so much heritage from the primordial era of gods and devils around here.' Leon silently thought.

He recalled that Master Woodrow mentioned everything had been unearthed from the southern ruins within the land of darkness, where the demon's territory was, and became immensely interested.

'With my current strength, going deep into the demon's territory is the same as throwing my life away.' Leon thought self-deprecatingly.

After a moment, he paused and rubbed his chin in deeper thought, 'However, if I have Lumi with me, it might not be impossible for me to explore these ruins.'

"Oh? Did you learn anything from your perusal time, Little Brother Leonhardt?" Asked Master Woodrow. After watering his plants, he had returned shortly.

However, that short span of time was more than enough time for Leon to plunder Master Woodrow's entire book collection. Furthermore, Leon was still hoping to collect from the other Venerable Shamans too.

"I did learn something, but it seems like all of these scrolls and books in your collection are incomplete, aren't they? Was the cultivation method created by the Darkmoon Tribe's ancestors inspired by these ancient scrolls and books?" Leon asked.

"Oh? That's right. Our ancestors did create the Darkmoon Body Forging Method after gaining some inspiration from this ancient heritage." Master Woodrow admitted. "As for the incomplete collection. There is nothing we can do about it. These were all collected from the southern ruins, after all. It's an exceedingly dangerous expedition where even Battle Masters have the risk of losing their lives."

"I see. However, I heard that Chief Valencia and the other Venerable Shamans each have their own private book collection. If we were to pool these together and complete the incompleteness, perhaps we might be able to learn something?" Leon suggested with an underlying intention.

"Hmm…"

Master Woodrow appeared to consider Leon's suggestion seriously. After a moment, his eyes brightened and Leon's shoulders with his hands.

"Little Brother Leonhardt has suggested something very interesting. No one has thought about this before. It could be the key to us understanding the secrets behind the ancient heritage of the distant past. I will bring this suggestion to the attention of the chief and the others at our next meeting—No, I should meet them now." Master Woodrow said.

The heritage from the southern ruins was unearthed and accumulated over hundreds of years.

At first, no one understood anything from the ancient texts. Thus, everything was divided between many families for private study and had passed through many hands over the years.

Now that their understanding of the runic language has reached a substantial level, they should no longer be as clueless as in the past. If they put together the matching incomplete volumes, they might just obtain a complete volume and learn something from it.

"Then this younger brother will not hold Brother Woodrow back and will leave first. However, I hope Brother Woodrow will bring this younger brother along when the time comes if the chief and the others agree to the suggestion."

"Of course!"

Master Woodrow gave his word.

Leon smiled and bid his farewell shortly after, leaving the Fragrant Tea Abode before making his way into the shopping district to find some nice clothing and equipment to gift Darlene. He did rip her clothes to shreds, after all.

It did not bother him whether his suggestion would allow the Darkmoon Tribe to obtain many godly and devilish cultivation methods, techniques, and battle skills.

The heritage belonged to them, after all.

However, even if they did obtain the complete and translated copies, they would never be able to practice the related method, technique, or battle skill without the prerequisite of True Grandmist Energy.

If pseudo-Grandmist Energy could indeed be substituted for True Grandmist Energy, then he might just be the only person who will be able to practice these methods, techniques, and battle skills.

Chapter 401 - The Gift Can Wait

Sometime after leaving Fragrant Tea Abode, Leon arrived at the big market within the Darkmoon Tribe.

Various items were being sold in this location, and everything could be found, from low-tier Soul Weapons to high-quality demonic beast meat.

Apart from those, the market also had people selling low-quality Enchant Equipment, accessories, clothing, demonic beast materials, rare minerals, healing potions, and strange oddities.

The highest quality of items can only be found in the stores owned by the Venerable Shamans of their respective professions.

Leon found a tailor shop selling women's garments and made his way over to it through the bustling crowd of tribesmen.

"Brother Leonhardt is here! The Divine Doctor has come to visit our big market!" A tribesman noticed Leon and hollered to the crowd.

What?!

The crowd immediately exploded with fervor and excitement. They pushed and shoved each other in a competitive manner as they rushed to be the first person to greet Leon.

Leon was taken aback by the fervor everyone was feeling but soon understood the reason for their enthusiasm.

"Divine Doctor, thank you for curing my husband's leg! It is all thanks to you that he can continue to join the hunting team to scavenge for demonic beasts!"

"…thank you for curing my father's arm… he can continue to…"

"…thank you…"

…

Leon received countless gratitude from the surrounding tribesmen, so much that his ears buzzed and made him feel dizzy.

He smiled wryly in response and said, "Please make way, everyone. I am just here to buy some stuff. There's no need to shower me with your gratitude. I just did what anyone would have done."

"Even so, we would like to thank you! Please, whatever you need to buy here, we will gift it to you for free!" A store owner said.

Once those words were spoken, the other store owners also chimed in.

"Yes, yes, yes! What do you need to buy, Brother Leonhardt? We would like to gift them to you!"

"I have some low-tier Soul Weapons here. Does Brother Leonhardt fancy any of them?" Asked a middle-aged store owner in charge of a weapon store before getting whacked by his wife.

"Nonsense! Brother Leonhardt has a Tier 4 Bone Spear. Would he care about our Tier 1 Soul Weapons?"

"How about some demonic beast meat, Brother Leonhardt? We have some quality pheasants and bear meat cuts here? The fatty cuts are good too. They are very juicy." A butcher offered.

"I appreciate the goodwill, everyone, but I am just here to buy some clothes for my woman," Leon said to the crowd with a wry smile.

After he saw that, the crowd immediately quiet down before a few tailor store owners step forward to invite Leon to their stores.

"How about taking a look at my store, Divine Doctor? My store mainly sells womenswear. There might be a few things that you would like to buy for your woman."

"My store doesn't specialize in womenswear only, but there might be something that catches your interest, Brother Leonhardt. How about you take a look there?"

Leon smiled helplessly.

"Alright, there's no need to fight with each other. I will take a look at both your stores." Leon shortly turned to the crowd and said, "Sorry, everyone. Maybe next time."

Shortly after, Leon followed the store owners to their tailor store, and the crowd slowly dispersed back to their usual business with disappointment.

Two burning incense of time later, Leon walked out of the second tailor store with an extra six sets of clothing; two sets for himself and four sets for Darlene. Everything was stored inside the interspatial pouch with 19-thousand Dark Crystals.

He had sneakily slipped 500 Dark Crystals behind each of the tailor store's counter. It would only be sometime later before the store owners realize the extra Dark Crystals behind their counter when they calculate their total earnings for the day.

Leon could have accepted their gifts for free, but he was not the kind of person who liked to owe people favors.

After leaving the big market, Leon made his way to Old Tailor's store.

As the Dark Continent was dark all year round due to the black clouds that blot out the sky, the Darkmoon Tribe had no concept of night and day. They only have the fire tower to keep track of time.

Market trades, work, and sleeping hours were totally dependent on the tribesmen's mood. While some are working, others could be sleeping. While others are working, some could be sleeping.

Unless the tribe was hosting events or they were being threatened by outside threats, very rarely were every tribesman awake at the same time.

Leon frowned slightly when he sensed a trace of hostile intent targeting him. However, the person was very sharp and managed to mask their intent before he could track their location.

That person was very cautious.

Nevertheless, there were not many people in the Darkmoon Tribe that would try to harm him. As such, he could only guess that it was the spies from the Great Ironhawk Tribe going after him again.

'It doesn't seem like they will make a move while there are other people around me on the streets. This means they wish to make a move against me, but they do not wish to expose themselves while doing so. In that case, I do not need to worry about them too much...'

Leon analyzed the situation while continuing to stroll along the busy street with a casual expression. Even so, he decided not to fully drop his guard as that would be unwise of him.

Sometime later, he made it to Old Tailor's store without the secret stalker making a move once. Leon shrugged and entered the store.

"Big Brother Leonhardt! Are you here to buy something today?" Little Bone ran over to greet Leon. He was excited to see his father's savior.

Leon rubbed the little boy's head and said, "Working hard at the store counter aye, Little Bone? Aren't you the diligent one? Where's your father and grandfather?"

"Grandpa is teaching papa how to craft Enchanted Equipment in the backyard. Is Big Brother Leonhardt here to see them? Should I go tell them about big brother's visit?"

"Nah, no need to bother them. Big brother was just curious. Does the store have any interspatial leather pouches for sale?" Asked Leon after giving the store a quick glance over the goods on display.

Little Bone nodded rigorously and explained, "Grandpa said that in-interspatial leather pouches are special due to the di-difficulty in making them, so we should keep them behind the drawers and only take them out if people spe-specifically ask for them."

The little boy struggled to pronounce big words. Leon could not help but laugh and rub the little boy's head again. He was quite an adorable little thing. He wondered if his own kids will be like this when he has them.

"I'll go take it out to show big brother." The little boy said with a bit of embarrassment and ran back to the counter before pulling out a sliding and detachable wooden tray.

The counter was a bit too high for the little boy to place the wooden tray on top. However, there was a small wooden platform behind the counter that seemed to have been prepared for exactly these kinds of situations.

After Little Bones stepped onto the platform and placed the tray onto the counter, Leon had glanced at the seven objects shown.

All had similar designs and ranged between Tier 1-4 in quality. However, there was only one Tier 4 Interspatial Pouch while the other 3 came in pairs. A wooden tag was placed beside each item, listing the price of the goods.

A Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch had a storage capacity of 10 cubic meters, a Tier 2 had 40 cubic meters, Tier 3 had 160 cubic meters, and Tier 4 have 640 cubic meters.

Looking at the price of each item, Leon almost had a heart attack. The lowest quality interspatial pouch went for a whopping 4000 Dark Crystals, while each consecutive higher tier item cost double the previous price.

Leon checked his interspatial pouch's storage capacity, which had 160 cubic meters, and scratched his cheek wryly. It was a Tier 3 Interspatial Pouch with a value of 16000 Dark Crystals.

'Never mind, Darlene does need a big interspatial pouch. It is enough as long as it can contain everything she needs.'

He decided.

In the end, he bought the lowest Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch in addition to a few Tier 3 Enchanted Equipment; a leather breast armor, leather boots, leather shin guard, leather wrist guard, and a fox-headed cloak.

The total came to a discounted price of 17600 Dark Crystals, and Leon shortly left the store with 1400 Dark Crystals left in his pockets.

He was broke after a single big purchase.

"Haiz, I'm too poor," Leon said to himself with a shake of his head as he left the store. "Hm—?!"

His mind suddenly became alerted to the sense of danger. He immediately utilized all his abilities to duck from an incoming projectile that narrowly missed his head before gazing into the direction of the attack.

The attacker did not continue to attack and fled after the sneak attack had failed. Seeing a few shadows quickly moving in pursuit, Leon decided not to give chase. He might not necessarily be able to beat the attacker anyway.

Nevertheless, Leon found it strange that the spies had not been cleaned up. Have they not found out what the spies were trying to accomplish in the tribe?

Leon shook his head. Sometime later, he returned to Barrenrock Courtyard and entered his room.

Darlene was quick to greet him, "Welcome back, hubby."

"Un, I'm back." Leon nodded and said, "I got something to give you…"

His voice slurred towards the end as he gazed upon Darlene's voluptuous figure, enticing him in a vulnerable and alluring position on the bed. Blood immediately shot to his head.

'Well, the gift can wait til later.'

Chapter 402 - Time To Cultivate

Darlene laid in bed with her bare body without any cover, but her private locations were all covered by her sleeping positioning.

Despite her twin peaks and flowery garden being hidden from Leon's line of sight, it made Darlene's figure more alluring and arouses his desires.

Darlene smiled and turned her body towards Leon, revealing more of her supple mounds while teasing him at the same time with the tips of her twin peaks covered with one arm.

If it were in the past, she would have never thought there would be a day that she would put so much effort into pleasing a man. But she had experienced the world of pleasure and could not get enough of it.

Blood shot to Leon's head after witnessing Darlene seducing him with her enticing figure. She was such a succubus. He quickly undressed before pouncing on top of her like an animal in heat.

Darlene smiled sweetly and wrapped her arms around Leon's neck before pulling him closer until their foreheads touched.

"Mmm~!"

She gave a short moan as Leon played with her supple bosom before looking into his eyes with an impassioned glint.

"What does hubby want to give me?" She asked.

"I want to give you… the D!" Said Leon.

He traced his fingers along her silky-smooth skin and slid them down her body gently, sending shivers through Darlene's body before attacking her honey pot with them.

"Ahh~"

Darlene tightened her arms around his head as her body trembled with delight from the wave of pleasure washing over here.

"Hubby is so naughty!" She spouted with a blush.

"Hmph, and who's fault do you think that is, hmm?" Leon asked while showing her his hand that has already become soaked in her viscous love nectar.

Darlene immediately flushed with redness and averted her eyes in shame. She softly hammered his chest with two small fists complainingly.

"Don't show me that~"

Leon smirked at the shy Darlene.

He played with her body and moistened the sugar basin like watering the flower garden with a sprinkler before ramming his hot rod inside.

"Ahhh~"

Darlene moaned with pleasure. Her legs wrapped around his body and shivered in elation as she passively accepts all of Leon's love.

Her gaze blurred with impassioned fervor and her hot breaths became short from her racing heart.

Leon kissed her soft cherry lips passionately before blowing gently on her ears, causing a shiver to run through her body and make it grow feeble with weakness.

He proceeded to enjoy the pleasant scent of her vulnerable neck while they are locked in each other's embrace as his hard rod continue to aggressively send waves of pleasure and bliss through her flowery hole of wonders.

"Ahh, ahh, ahhh~! Why does this feel so good~? I can never get sick of this feeling~!" Darlene gasped for air and moaned.

"You'll be sick of it after I am done with you!" Leon stated firmly like he was trying to appear aggressive and threatening.

However, Darlene did not take him seriously and giggled, "Hehehe, no~ spare me, my lord~!"

"Hmph! It seems I have been going too easy on you!" Leon said and flipped Darlene on her stomach before moistening her rear hole in love nectar with one hand while pinching and squeezing her supple nips with the other, all while ravishing her honey pot with his stick mixer.

"Wait, no—What are you planning to do with that hole? It's dirty, hubby. Don't—Ohhh~" Darlene writhed in delight with mixed feelings as the new pleasurable sensation overwhelmed her.

When it comes to the understanding of the human body, Leon was a master in the field. After making love with Darlene several times, he had figured out all her sweet spots and continuously assaulted them without giving her any quarters to rest.

"No~! Wrong hole, hubby~! Ahhh~!"

Carnal pleasure flooded Darlene's body from three different areas. It drowned her in the depths of lustful depravity as her body continuously climaxed and elevated her mind to the highest of heavens above cloud nine.

Their bodies soaked with sweat after many hours of passionate and fevered intimacy. The pinkish mood and heavy smell within the room spoke volumes of their intense love-making session.

"Ahh~! Mercy, hubby~!"

Darlene begged consistently after each climax. Her body felt soft like jelly and energy was sapped away. Without the supply of Leon's Yang fluid, she was unable to last as long as last time.

"Mmm… I really can't take it anymore… Mmm…"

Darlene whined weakly as her words slurred with exhaustion. The last trace of her consciousness slipped into a deep sleep with the last climax of her body and slumped weakly on the bed, motionless.

At the same time, Leon unloaded his Yang fluid into her love cave before he, too, slumped to the side of the bed, fatigued.

"Phew..."

He exhaled.

Of all his women, he must say that Darlene had the highest stamina of them all when it comes to passion in the bed. He felt a bit weak in the knees when he recalls the fact that she had yet to embark on the path of cultivation.

"Mmm, don't~ no more~"

Darlene mumbled erotically in her sleep while her hips wriggled slightly when Leon decided to give her rear cheeks a slap on a whim.

She was a natural-born nymph.

He was not sure if he could keep all his women satisfied at this rate. His body would be worn out before he could please them all. He needed to upgrade his body.

'I need to speed up my cultivation.'

Great attainments in body forging will give him the limitless energy he needs to battle in bed with his women without tiring out or damaging his body from overexertion.

Leon adjusted Darlene's body into a more comfortable sleeping position before wiping her sweat and tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.

Her sleeping expression slowly loosened up as he covered her body with the fur blanket.

Shortly after, he went over to the wooden tub and drained the water before refilling it with fresh water and gave himself a nice cold bath to freshen up.

Once he was done with his bath, he dried his body and adorned a new set of clothes he previously purchased from the big market.

His brows furrowed slightly at the heavy smell of the room.

He picked up the soundly asleep Darlene wrapped in the fur blanket before bringing her into the adjacent room and placed her on the new bed to allow her to sleep in a better environment, freed from the heavy smell next door.

After he was done, he took out the Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch, containing the clothes and Enchanted Equipment he bought earlier for Darlene and placed it beside her, so she would see it when she wakes up.

He closed the door on his way out.

In the courtyard, Leon found himself a spacious spot and checked the surroundings. After confirming no one was secretly spying, he manipulated the earth and began burrowing himself into the ground. The hole was sealed on his way down.

At around 20 feet underground, he stopped and expanded the size of the cave and made himself a hidden cultivation chamber.

After the cave was done, Leon took out a Supreme-grade Spirit Stone and extracted some of its Spirit Energy to fill up the cultivation cave.

'This should do it.'

Once Leon finished his preparations, he entered the Archive with his consciousness and looked at the three translated first volumes.

[Godfiend Body Forging Method]

[Devil Emperor's Tome of Darkness]

[Star God's Finger Art]

Of these three methods, the [Godfiend Body Forging Method] interested Leon the most and had the lowest practice requirement. The other two were battle skills with special conditions.

The [Devil Emperor's Tome of Darkness] had two additional requirements before Leon could practice. Apart from True Grandmist Energy, he would also need to comprehend the Darkness Profound Law and possess the Devil Emperor's bloodline.

Leon had no idea who the Devil Emperor was, but just by the name alone was imposing enough. Maybe the Devil Emperor was one of the Greater Devils with great mastery over the Destruction Law during the primordial era.

[Star God's Finger Art] requires comprehension of the Spatial Law's first level minimum and the unique bloodline of the Star God to begin practice.

If there was one thing Leon understood from reading the conditions for the practice of these two battle skills, it was that these battle skills were not designed for the Devil Emperor and Star God themselves. It should have created for their offspring and descendants.

Only the [Godfiend Body Forging Method] had a single requirement for True Grandmist Energy and no other conditions involved.

Leon picked out the [Godfiend Body Forging Method] from the shelf and began to study it in earnest. It was a method of using True Grandmist Energy to temper the body to achieve the God Body.

"This [Godfiend Body Forging Method] seems to have the same goal as the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] that I am practicing. However, there is one major difference between them."

Leon's eyes glowered.

The incomplete version of the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] only has the method to create True Grandmist Energy. On the other hand, the first volume of the [Godfiend Body Forging Method] contains the practical method to strengthen the body!

Not only that, but it also gave Leon a basic introduction to the different realms of the body cultivation system from the primordial era of gods and devils!

Chapter 403 - Realms Of Body Cultivation

When power is introduced to people, they usually learn to use it first before they even try to sustain or even reproduce it. It makes sense that in an era where True Grandmist Energy was held in abundance, it would be taken for granted.

All cultivation methods, techniques, and battle skills created during the primordial era were made to make use of the True Grandmist Energy and never reproduce it.

When Leon thought of this point, it became more apparent that the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] had a deeper origin compared to all these other heritage from the primordial era of gods and devils.

Exactly what was the origin of the Hegemon of Primal Chaos technique?

It was found in ancient ruin before it was circulated throughout the Divine Realm, but not a single Divine Practitioner could achieve success in this technique.

Yet, it was precisely this technique that can reproduce the very source of energy that gave birth to everything in existence.

For the first time, Leon felt like his fate and destiny was not his own to decide, but more like he was being guided by an unknown force at work; like believing he had choices to make all this while when, in fact, he had been walking down a single linear pathway.

The thought scared him.

After a moment, he shook his head and tried not to think about it.

If there was such a strong entity that can manipulate the fates and lives of every being in the universe, such a powerful being should be considered the one True God or True Creator.

Even if he were to figure that such a being truly existed, there would still be nothing he can do about it. He was far, far too weak to break the chain of fate set by such an entity.

If he wanted to break away from the chain of fate set by someone else, he just had to keep cultivating until he becomes stronger than such a being.

In the first volume of the [Godfiend Body Forging Method], Leon was introduced to the realms of the Body Cultivation System from the primordial era.

Namely, there were four major realms within the Body Cultivation System. These four realms were called the Body Tempering Realm, Body Transformation Realm, Eight Hidden Gates, and Nine Star Palaces.

As the names implied, the Body Tempering Realm focuses on tempering the body to the limits, and the Body Transformation Realm focuses on transforming the body beyond the limits.

However, the Eight Hidden Gates and Nine Star Palaces were different from the first two realms and could be a completely different set of their own cultivation systems.

At the realm of Eight Hidden Gates and beyond, one can no longer strengthen the body through the standard method of using energy to refine the body.

They are also required to seek worldly treasures and wondrous elixirs to further aid them in bringing out the absolute potential that lies dormant within the body.

This is why it is called the Eight Hidden Gates.

Regardless of race, it is said that every living entity had eight hidden points within its body that contain untapped power from another dimension.

These eight hidden points are like the black holes in the universe that always draw things inside and never let anything out. To draw out the power from deep within, Body Practitioners had to go to great lengths to force them open.

However, each opened hidden gate was equally rewarding. The power boost was immense, allowing Body Practitioners at this realm to be on equal footings with Celestials and practitioners at the Divine State.

Beyond that was the Nine Star Palace Realm that is on par with Divinities. This was a realm beyond mortality, and no mortals can achieve this realm no matter how great their talents and body potential, at least not on their own.

At the Realm of Nine Star Palaces, there is no more potential within the mortal body to draw out. As such, Body Practitioners must build these so-called Star Palaces to achieve greater strengths in their Body Cultivation.

Each Star Palaces was akin to a miniature universe. As such, having nine Star Palaces was akin to having nine energy centers, whereas most divine practitioners of the Energy Cultivation System would only ever have one, which lies in their glabella region.

From this, it could be seen how terrifying a Body Practitioner at the Nine Star Palace Realm is like.

After Leon understood the introduction to the Body Cultivation System, he read through the instructions for the [Godfiend Body Forging Method].

His eyes flickered with determination after he memorized the contents.

'Time to test whether my pseudo-Grandmist Energy can indeed be substituted for the True Grandmist Energy or not.'

Leon decisively thought.

He drew out the Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy from his Black Vortex and manipulated it according to the [Godfiend Body Forging Method].

The Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy was shortly energized and vibrated at high frequency, turning each particle of Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy into sieve-like particles.

Leon felt a slight chill and sighed, 'This is going to hurt like hell! …However, the body forging methods were never a pain-free process!'

Leon gritted his teeth and immediately began the tempering process on his body. The pain that followed was as he had expected. It was like a layer of his skin was being flailed and ground away as numerous waves of electric shock assaulted his mind in continuous streams.

Despite the pain he was feeling, no visible damage was seen on his flesh.

It was all in the mind.

'It's effective! Pseudo-Grandmist Energy can indeed be substituted in place of True Grandmist Energy!'

Leon thought excitedly.

He endured the pain with bloodshot eyes and felt the changes taking place to his flesh.

After the sieve-like Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy grind against his flesh, it blended and fused into his flesh.

'Hm?'

Leon suddenly discovered something.

[Godfiend Body Forging Method] could indeed complement the practical aspect the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] was lacking, but that did not stop him from practicing the [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] to temper his flesh at the same time.

[Hegemon of Primal Chaos] produces the energy, [Godfiend Body Forging Method] teaches how to manipulates it, and [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] directly applies it.

Leon immediately tried to put his thoughts into practice, utilizing both techniques to temper his flesh.

'Hm, it's a bit difficult to practice both simultaneously, but it's still manageable for me.'

Leon thought.

The results were as he presumed.

This fleshly strength and defensive properties began to grow at an alarming rate. The [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] 's stagnant first stage began to rise and inch closer and closer to the second stage.

After losing his Body Runes, his arm's 9-star Ranked Awakener defensive strength dropped back to the 1-star Ranked Awakener defensive strength.

However, once he breakthrough in his [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] to the second stage, his entire body's defensive strength will rise to Transcendent first rank. In other words, no attack below 100 thousand jin would hurt him!

Not only that, but his body's physical strength was also rising at the same time! It was the benefit of practicing the [Godfiend Body Forging Method]!

The peak of Body Tempering Realm in the Energy Cultivation System only gives Divine Practitioners the physical strength of 1000 jin.

However, in the primordial Body Cultivation System, 100 thousand jin was the peak of the Body Tempering Realm!

With Leon's base strength of roughly 20 thousand jin, he would have only been considered a Rank 2 Body Tempering Realm Practitioner back in the primordial era!

He still had a long way to go!

'The difference between the strengths of the current cultivation systems and the cultivation systems of the past is so immensely vast. No wonder everyone that lived in that age was considered a living god even if they had yet to achieve Divinity and obtain everlasting life!'

Leon mused.

'Everlasting life… everlasting life…'

He began to mumble.

What kind of disaster could have befallen the gods and devils for their era to end when they had everlasting life? Were they truly wiped out by some great disaster, or did they leave their legacies behind and left for some distant place?

Leon always seems to have a lot of his mind and delve into deep thoughts, but the mysteries of the past can only be unraveled slowly.

For now, just keep cultivating!

Only by becoming stronger will he have the strength to travel to places previously too dangerous for him to explore. For example, the depths of the Extreme Misty Forest, one of the four Perilous Lands in the Human Domain!

As Leon continued to endure the painful process of tempering flesh and exhaust his Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy reserves, his physical strength steadily climbed from 20 thousand jin to 30 thousand jin.

With the right technique and conditions, his strength soared quickly! After all, the Body Tempering Realm was only the beginning of body cultivation!

Chapter 404 - Secret Rune Implant

Crimsonfog Tribe

"Congratulations on your victorious return, chief!"

A group of sentries greeted upon chief Baskara's return to the tribe with 5000 warriors. Not a single warrior's life was lost on the trip, or rather, they seemed to be returning with more than 5000 warriors?

"What victorious return? There was no battle." Chief Baskara calmly corrected before turning back to face the 5000 Warriors following behind him.

"Send these three to cell and have someone watch over them." Chief Baskara ordered a warrior to take away the three captive Extremity-ranked Great Warriors.

"Yes, chief."

The three captive warriors did not try to resist. Resistance was futile and might even result in them being put to death on the spot.

After the warrior complied and left with the three captives, Chief Baskara began issuing orders to the rest of the tribe, "Alert the rest of the tribe and have every abled-warrior man the defenses to prepare for battle."

"Yes, chief."

The warriors complied.

However, shortly after, a higher-ranking sentry walked over and asked, "What are we preparing against, chief?"

"Undead Battle Kings."

"...Un-Undead Battle Kings?"

The higher-ranking sentry spouted alarmingly with wide eyes. The surrounding sentries overheard the words and became shocked by what they might be fighting.

"Undead Battle Kings?! Can we even fight against such a thing?!"

"How can there be any Undead Battle Kings?! Whose Battle Kings do they belong to?!"

"Dammit, it must be the Blackwind Tribe! They didn't burn their ancestor's corpses after the civil war two years ago!"

"F*ck! Now, we have to clean up after their mess!"

The 5000 warriors watched the sentries become a chaotic mess due to the news, smugly. They, too, have been shocked silly when they first learned the news. It was enjoyable to see others suffer the same shock as them.

"Burn the ancestor's corpses, huh?" Chief Baskara repeated with amusement. Humans were irrational creatures.

Burning the corpses of the dead was the wise thing to do, but no one would do it if they were told to burn their ancestor's corpse. Such an act was sacrilegious, and the person would be condemned by everyone else.

Between rational decisions and morals, these two had always been at odds with each other, no matter the ages.

The higher-ranking sentry gulped and asked, "Do we need to wake up for ancestors for this, chief? I don't think we have anyone in the tribe who can compete with a Half-step Archdemon."

"Waking up the ancestors should be the last resort. Nevertheless, we should prepare for the worse. I will arrange for someone to be on standby, should we fail to hold the Undead Battle Kings back." Chief Baskara said.

There was no confirmation that the Liches will lead the Undead Battle Kings to attack their tribe. Chief Baskara held onto a voice transmission stone, patiently waiting for news to be delivered from the other side.

Suddenly, the voice transmission stone lit up.

Chief Baskara brought the stone to his ears and listened to the message being delivered from the other side, "The Liches and Undead Battle Kings is true, chief. They are currently heading towards our tribe."

"I understand. That's all I need to know. Return to the tribe at once, Swiftwind." Chief Baskara said.

"I'm sorry, chief, but that won't be possible." Swiftwind chuckled bitterly and coughed heavily on the other side. "Please take care of my family for me."

The voice transmission ended shortly after. Sometime later, the voice transmission resumed but with a ghastly voice, "Oh? What do we have here? Kekeke, quite an interesting tool. Guess I'll take this back to study when I'm bored."

Chief Baskara sighed despondently.

It seems Swiftwind was detected by the enemy in the end. However, he made sure to deliver the news back to the tribe before he was killed.

'Don't worry, Swiftwind. You're sacrificed was not made in vain. I will make sure your family does not suffer the slightest grievance. You have my word."

Chief Baskara silently swore.

His eyes glazed over with firm conviction.

"Notify the Venerable Shamans. We will need their strengths in the upcoming battle. It has been confirmed; the Liches and Undead Battle Kings are heading our way."

"Yes, chief!"

After issuing a few more instructions to the warriors, Chief Baskara entered the tribe and headed to the cell where the prisoners were kept.

Ironfist and the other two Extremity-rank Great Warriors were not thrown into the prison cell for long before they heard the guards outside greeting loudly, "Chief Baskara!"

Chief Baskara entered the prison shortly after and ordered, "Open them, and free their binds."

"Chief Baskara?" Ironfist asked with uncertainty while rubbing his wrists with his hands.

"Your words have been proven true, and I have seen your sincerity. As such, I am now giving you the option to join our tribe. You won't blame me for the way I treated you, right?"

"Not at all. It is normal for you to be doubtful of the words of outsiders. This proves that you are a wise leader who does not listen to others blindly and places great importance on your tribesmen's lives. And for that, I respect you greatly." Ironfist said truthfully.

In this aspect, Chief Baskara was better than the Great Ironhawk Tribe's chief.

Chief Baskara smiled calmly and studied the appearance of the three Extremity-rank Great Warriors; their lips were parched, and their bodies were riddled with dirt and scratches. It was clear that they were dehydrated and unclean.

"Come, let us get you all cleaned and hydrated. We can talk later." Chief Baskara said and brought the three warriors outside. He found a servant and ordered, "Give these three men a jug of water and take them to the bathhouse to be cleansed. After they are done, bring them back to meet me."

"Yes, chief."

The male servant complied and respectfully asked the three warriors to follow him. After the servant left, Chief Baskara summoned the tribe's scouts. He ordered them to scout the area and notify him as soon as they discover the enemy enter their borders.

Fifteen minutes later, the three Extremity-rank Great Warriors finished their bath, and the servants brought them to the Great Hall where Chief Baskara waited for them over a dining table filled with food and drinks.

"Sit." The chief gestured and said, "I will not be biased and will treat you all how I treat the other Extremity-rank Great Warriors of my tribe. However, before that, there are some questions I want answers to. I hope you all will be able to give me a satisfying answer."

Chief Baskara wanted to learn what the Great Ironhawk Tribe's goal for sending such a large force to the territory of the Seven Tribe Alliance. It could not be as simple as making use of the chaos to take some spoils.

"Of course. Please ask away, chief." Ironfist said while the three of them took a seat at the dining table with the chief.

Chief Baskara nodded before his eyes turned sharp and asked, "What does the Great Ironhawk Tribe want to achieve by sending such a large force here? Such a big loss is not easy, even for a strong tribe like theirs."

"This…"

"What is it? Is it something you can't say?"

Ironfist and the other two warrior's expression became slightly forced and shook their heads, "It's not that we cannot say it exactly… but can we trouble the chief to find an expert that can remove the rune in our heads first?"

…

Darkmoon Tribe, Great Hall.

"Chief Valencia." A warrior entered and immediately saluted before asking, "You called for me?"

"That's right."

Chief Valencia sat on her throne and glanced down at the warrior. Her face was slightly flushed like she had just recently engaged in an intense and intimate session.

"I've sent a spy to the interrogation room and requested for the Venerable Shaman, Master Woodrow, to personally interrogate the person. What were the results of the interrogation?" She asked.

The warrior immediately knelt down with a slight change in expression and said, "My apologies, chief. The interrogation failed."

"What?"

Chief Valencia briefly froze, thinking she had misheard before she gazed at the warrior solemnly before asking, "What did you say?"

"The interrogation failed."

"I know that. I'm asking how?" Chief Valencia demanded.

"When the Venerable Shaman used his hypnotic mysticism on the person, the person had indeed fallen under a trance. However, after the Venerable Shaman asked his first question, the person's head suddenly exploded when they tried to answer."

Chief Valencia immediately knitted her brows together tightly after hearing the warrior's explanation. After pondering for a moment, she raised an eyebrow.

"Someone planted an Exploding Secret Rune to keep the spy's mouth shut on the secrets of their mission? Who is capable of planting such a thing?" She guessed but also doubted herself.

"The Venerable Shaman also guessed as such but was not too certain if it was truly the case. The Venerable Shaman said the person capable of planting such a rune had to be someone well known if they had such an extraordinary ability." The warrior explained.

Chief Valencia frowned.

She could not think of any well-known Shamans in the Infertile Plains that would have such a strange and extraordinary ability to plant such a rune inside a person's mind.

Exploding Secret Runes were not well known, but exactly a closed secret either. They were usually carved on the foreheads and easily discovered with a brief inspection.

Thus, it cannot be a simple matter if the Great Ironhawk Tribe hired an expert to hide the runes. What exactly was the Great Ironhawk Tribe after?

Chapter 405 - Darlene's Thoughts

"Never mind. Since the spy had an Exploding Secret Rune planted inside his mind. Most likely, the other spies will also have one planted in them too."

Chief Valencia began to think.

If she wanted to understand the Great Ironhawk Tribe's motives for sending their people to her tribe, she needed to find someone who can remove these runes from the mind. Only then can she begin interrogating them.

The other method is not really a solution. It is to continue monitoring the spies' movements and come up with an educated guess based on their area of operation.

Chief Valencia immediately summoned a scout before asking the scout, "What is the situation on the spies? Where are they right now?"

"Some time ago, a few of them tried to assassinate Young Master Leonhardt before fleeing. However, they failed due to the young master's quick reflex, fortunately. As for the other spies, they are mostly concentrated in the tribe's central region."

Chief Valencia's eye glinted with a fierce look and asked, "They tried to assassinate Leonhardt? They didn't try to capture him at all?"

"No, chief."

The scout answered and appeared to be hesitating about something. He was unsure whether he should say it or not as it was only a guess, and he did not want to mislead the chief because of it.

"What is it? Say it." Demanded Chief Valencia after noticing the scout's hesitant look.

"Y-Yes, chief! I feel that the spies going after something from our mines. I don't believe our tribe has anything else of interest apart from the things in our underground mines that would make them come all this way. Not unless they were fooled by some false information by their rivaling tribes that led them here."

After explaining, the scout added, "However, this is just a guess of mine. Chief Valencia does not need to take it seriously."

"No, what you just said; you have a good point. These spies may very well be after something from our underground mines." Chief Valencia took the scout's opinion seriously.

The underground mines only have three main points of interest; the Dark Crystals, the water vein where they collect their water, and the catacombs where the slumbering ancestors dwelled.

Of these three points of interest, the water vein was the least likely to be the Great Ironhawk Tribe's objective.

The water vein could be found anywhere in the Infertile Plains as long as they dig deep enough into the underground world. Even lost treasures and ruins can be located amidst other things and entities that dwell below the earth.

The water only needed to be filtered before they become drinkable. With the widespread method for filtering water, there was not a single tribe on the plain that did not have access to drinkable water.

Thus, it was nigh impossible for the water vein to be sought after, although no one knew where all the underground water in these water veins came from.

The next unlikely point of interest was the catacombs. Unless the spies were seeking death, no one would enter the catacombs and wake up the slumbering Battle Kings.

Although the highest quality of Soul Weapons, Enchant Equipment, and Accessories are all found there, it was impossible to steal these treasures from the Battle Kings that guard them.

There are mechanisms set in place to arouse the sleeping giants once someone steps foot inside and intrudes the area.

After the catacombs were the Dark Crystals. This seems to be the most likely point of interest for the Great Ironhawk to target. However, they would not be going after this unless…

When Chief Valencia arrived at this point, she suddenly burst into ridiculing laughter.

"Don't tell me that the Great Ironhawk Tribe have exhausted their Dark Crystal deposits? They are many other tribes on the Infertile Plains, but they decided to come here and eye our tribe's Dark Crystal deposit. Do they think our Darkmoon Tribe is easy to bully?" Chief Valencia sneered.

The closer one was to the southern Land of Darkness, the richer the underground Dark Crystal deposits were. As such, the underground Dark Crystal deposits in Infertile Plain's central region cannot be compared to the southern region.

"Send down my order; kill all these rats from Great Ironhawk Tribe. There is no longer any purpose in keeping them alive." Chief Valencia ordered.

However, she suddenly frowned slightly and corrected her order, "Just in case, capture a few of them and kill the rest."

"Yes, chief! I hear and obey!"

The scout patted his chest excitedly and left to carry out the chief's order. His eyes glimmered with a bloodthirsty sheen.

…

Barrenrock Courtyard.

Some time has passed since Leon left and burrowed himself underground to cultivate in peace. At that moment, Darlene woke up and stretched her limbs comfortably before observing her surroundings.

She was slightly surprised when she discovered she was in a new room. A warm feeling sprouted in her heart after she quickly understood the reason behind it.

Shortly after, her eyes glanced down upon a leather pouch lying on the bed next to her. Her heart immediately skipped a beat.

'Is this an Interspatial Pouch? These things are very costly… why is this here?' Darlene thought with puzzlement.

She glanced around the empty room.

Seeing no one, she became a bit suspicious and doubtful of the leather pouch's presence. Should she look or should she not look inside?

'Is this a test?'

She thought with discouragement.

Although a strong sense of curiosity urged her to open the Interspatial Pouch and take a glimpse inside, she fought back the urge and refused to touch it.

If Leon knew Darlene's choice, he would not know whether to laugh or cry.

After Darlene finally managed to push her thoughts about the leather pouch to the back of her mind, she began thinking about her spatial ability.

A rare trace of excitement was shown on her face as there was no one around to see it. Her heart began beating quicker, and she took short breaths.

She raised her hand and began to play around with her spatial ability by distorting and bending the space in front. However, after a moment, her hands drooped down, and pensive sadness overwhelmed her.

She was good at concealing her true emotions. This was something she picked up from a young age after being abandoned by her family and being told that she was useless.

But at this moment, she no longer bothered to hold back her emotions and let them flow naturally. Bitter tears silently dripped down her cheeks slowly as all the grievance she felt over the years were poured out from her heart.

Darlene wept for some time before her emotions slowly calmed down. Her heart felt lighter and more peaceful… like something heavy pressing her down all this while has been taken off her shoulders.

A serene expression was seen on her face. But after a moment, it was replaced by determination as she slowly clenches her small fists.

'I will practice this spatial ability diligently and become someone strong one day. Then I will tell all those who have wronged me in the past that they were wrong about me! I am not useless! I can also cultivate! And make sure they regret abandoning me!'

Darlene silently swore an oath for herself.

However, her determined look crumpled with awkwardness after a moment of realization. She immediately burrowed her face into the fur pillow, stuffed with dead grass.

She did not even know how to cultivate yet!

It is so embarrassing that she was already thinking of proving her worth when she had yet to learn how to cultivate!

Her face was flushed slightly.

Nevertheless, she believes that her hubby will teach her how to improve her spatial ability eventually.

What she could do now was to try and understand her spatial ability. She should explore ways in which she can use this ability effectively.

Her hubby never mentioned it, but she did not plan to reveal her ability to anyone without his explicit approval. Even if it was the chief of the tribe.

For some reason, Darlene's eyes were subtly drawn back to the leather pouch on the bed again before she quickly averted her eyes. Her curiosity was killing her, but she should not peek at things that were not hers.

'Hold on. What am I supposed to do without any clothes? My previous clothes were all torn to pieces by hubby again… and I won't be able to go out like this...'

Darlene suddenly thought.

Maybe she had misunderstood her hubby's intention? Perhaps he had gone out to buy some clothes for her instead? And it might be in the Interspatial Pouch?

'This might really be the case.'

Darlene became convinced of her conclusion, the more she thought about it. She was definitely not being influenced by the urge to peek inside the leather pouch…

"Just a peek won't hurt… It's not like I'm taking anything…" She muttered softly, giving herself justifications.

After Darlene took a glimpse inside the Interspatial Pouch, her heart fluttered with joy.

Women's clothes were seen inside! Really lovely garments for women! And it seems to be a perfect fit for her! Her hubby would not wear something like this, so it had to be bought for her!

Suddenly, Darlene felt like she was really blessed. Perhaps, all the hardship she had experienced until now was so she could meet her hubby.

A heartfelt expression was seen on Darlene's face as she smiled brilliantly and beautifully like the blooming of flowers.

'I wonder where he is right now…'

Darlene wondered with joy in her heart.. She has this urge to find him and throw herself into his arms.

Chapter 406 - High-Speed Traveling Idea

Crawford Kingdom, Lost Isle Alley.

Ever since Queen Elizabeth returned to the Capital with Aria and Lynne, the area around the Teleportation Array had been crowded with researchers.

"Have you still not figured out how this thing operates yet?! How old are you? And how old is son?! My son figured out how this thing operated in three days! How long has it been now? Three days! How much more time do you need?!" Elizabeth barked at the group of researchers that had been studying the mystical Teleportation Array for the past few days.

The head researcher bowed his head in shame and said, "My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty. I ashamed of my own incompetence."

"No, it's fine." After a moment, Elizabeth sighed and shook her head, despondently, "I'm just in too much of a hurry to see my son."

After calming down, Elizabeth seriously asks, "What have you found out so far about this thing?"

"It appears to be a type of spatial device capable of transporting people from one place to another. Although it is activated currently, something seems to be stopping it from opening the spatial portal from the other side. Perhaps, His Highness sealed it to stop others from following him over?"

After hearing this, Elizabeth furrowed her brows. What the head researcher said might just be the case. If so, no one would be able to travel to the other side even if they understood the mechanism of the Teleportation Array.

She sighed again and said, "Continue to study this Teleportation Array. Even if we cannot use it, we should learn how to reproduce it. If we can master this profound teleportation technology, we can effectively travel anywhere in the kingdom in an instance."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The head researcher and other researchers bowed in compliance. Shortly after, Elizabeth left the area and returned to the palace.

Within the king's study room, Heinrich was seen reading through some documents. Seeing Elizabeth enter the room, he placed the paper down and smiled, "How's the progress of the Teleportation Array?"

"Still the same." Elizabeth shook her head and asks, "What about the girls?"

Heinrich glanced outside the balcony before shrugging and said, "See for yourself."

"Are you upset that even one of your daughters-in-law is being one step ahead of you in cultivation and advancing to the Transcendent Realm?" Elizabeth asked with her lips curled before she walked to the balcony.

Outside the study room, a person could be seen meditating on the palace grounds' open field while a dozen palace guards secured the perimeters. No one was able to get close to the person at the center.

Clouds slowly gathered above, and cold lightning crackled in the sky. It was the Transcendent Phenomenon of someone achieving Transcendence.

Nevertheless, the Transcendent Phenomenon was different from all the other Transcendent Phenomenons in the past. The appearance of a Transcendent Phenomenon depended on the element the Awakener was achieving Transcendence with.

Even so, Aria's Transcendent Phenomenon was unique even among Transcendent Phenomenons. It appeared to be the Transcendence of dual elements, but it was the Transcendence of a single element in truth. It was the lightning element, but with traits of the ice element in it.

"Once Aria succeeds, we will have an additional Transcendent in our kingdom. That girl… she never ceases to amaze me. Her talent is simply overflowing. Lynne, on the other hand, worries me." Elizabeth sighed with a concerned look.

"She's a little competitive, but she's also a good girl. I hope that she will be able to achieve her aim by going to the World Tree." Heinrich said.

Elizabeth nodded before saying, "Speaking of the World Tree, I heard from Amelia that you were planning to expand the railway and build a route to connect the World Tree to the Capital, dear?"

"That's right."

Heinrich admitted with a nod and said, "Now that the lumber city and stone city is connected to the Capital, we are getting a steady supply of construction materials. It is just a matter of time before the Capital is rebuilt completely."

"However, our kingdom's territory has expanded to triple its size after the assimilating the territories of the Durham Kingdom and the Valaran Kingdom. If we want to govern such a large expanse of land effectively, we will need to move our Capital somewhere more central."

While listening to Heinrich's explanation, Elizabeth nodded in agreement. What her husband said made a lot a sense. However, she had some doubts.

"You are planning to make the World Tree the location of our new capital? There are more central regions we could choose from to be the location of our new capital. Why the World Tree's region?" Elizabeth asked.

Heinrich smiled at her question.

"My wife, you asked an excellent question. Let me tell you about an interesting piece of news I recently learned about. You are also aware that the sky has a suppressive gravitational force that stops us from flying beyond a certain height, yes?" He asked.

Elizabeth nodded.

"What about it?"

"The suppressive force of the sky does not exist under the umbrella of the World Tree. This means that our airships can fly at least 10,000fts high within the vicinity of the World Tree, and even higher as the World Tree grows." Heinrich spoke with a profound look.

Elizabeth could not understand where her husband was getting at with this topic and furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Even if the airship can fly to such heights, it is still confounded within the vicinity of the World Tree. Why would that be important in deciding the location of our new capital? Once airships leave the range, it will plunge due to the suppression force of the sky."

Heinrich chuckled mysteriously and shook his head, "That's is where you are wrong, my dear. Although the airship will not retain the same altitude once it leaves the range of the World Tree, it will not be a steep plunge either. Rather, it will be a gradual decline while the airship is accelerated due to the suppression force. Do you understand now what this implies?"

Elizabeth was not stupid. Once her husband explained this much to her, she understood everything without further explanation.

"This means that the airship will be akin to a slingshot or plunging rollercoaster once it leaves the World Tree's zone, flying at an incredible speed. Considering the gravitational force applied on the airships, I suppose it is possible for them to accelerate up to multiple times their normal speed!" Elizabeth said.

"That's right! Whether it is deploying troops, sending supplies, or simply traveling, it will be possible for us to reach any parts of the kingdom within a much shorter period of time compared to any other available modes of transport."

"It seems my husband already has plans to build a large airport near the World Tree." Elizabeth smiled before mentioning a critical problem, "However, how do you plan on solving the stress problem? I doubt any of our current airships will be able to withstand such high flight speed without falling apart from the resistance putting stress on the structural integrity of the airships."

"As the king of the kingdom, why do I have to be the one to solve it?" Heinrich laughed before proceeding to say, "I only need to provide an idea. It is up to others to realize it for me. I've already consulted Ignis on this matter, and he has already started researching a new airship design to bear the burden of high-speed flight."

"So my husband already has everything planned out. It seems the only thing left is to wait for the completion of the railway construction between the Capital and World Tree. I've been a bit free these days anyway. Maybe I will go speed up the construction process." Elizabeth said while preparing to leave.

Heinrich stood up from his seat and did a light stretch before strolling over and held Elizabeth's waist intimately.

"I've been cooped up in the palace and buried behind paperwork for so long that I could also use a little exercise. How about I join you, my dear? We've been so busy, we had little time to spend together these days." Heinrich suggested.

Elizabeth smiled and gave Heinrich a peck on the cheek before responding with, "If my husband wishes."

However, the palace maid, Lily, suddenly arrived by the open entrance and became slightly startled.

"Ahem, I'm terribly sorry for disturbing your intimate moments, Your Majesties. Marquis Haldir and Princess Faelyn have come to bid farewell." Said Lily.

"Oh? They've returned from the World Tree so suddenly? Seems like their business at the World Tree is finished. They should be planning to return to Elvengarde to inform their tribe.

"I will go first and leave you to deal with this matter," Elizabeth said with a smile before leaving from the balcony.

Heinrich shook his head with slight disappointment. After a moment, he recovered his regular expression and said, "I'll go meet them now. Where are they?"

"They are just waiting in the Great Hall, Your Majesty." Lily dutifully answered.

"Alright, I understand."

Heinrich nodded.