Soul of Searing Steel

Chapter 542: Ancient Dragon Mystery

Israel was assuredly not a person who was all talk. In truth, he had prepared well for his goal. As they returned from the earth’s core into the Void Star-Observatory, the sovereign of the Empire had explained his series of plans in detail.

At present, every Legendary champion in the Mycroft Continent was aware of the truth regarding Evil Gods and that the world, in fact, held ill-intent against them. It was information passed down from each generation, although the fact that the world of Mycroft was about to die until recently diminished the weight of that ill-intent—everyone was on a sinking ship after all, it was not the time for animosity. But now that Joshua had reignited the flames and allowed both humans and the world to keep on living, everyone now had sufficient time while the sealed World Will would gradually revive.

As long as the sealing circle left by the Sage and the gods all those years ago held on, such a weak World Will would not stir any waves—indeed, it would take centuries or millennia for It to break the seal apart. However, if the Abyss invades or the Evil Gods descend and the Mycroft continent was infected by their presence, things would be different. That was why though the seal was complete, every faction had backup plans in place to prevent the unexpected.

Before Israel, every Emperor of the Northern Empire had done their best in the search for a new world too, with the Void Star-Observatory specialized circles for detecting life being a clear evidence. Israel had also shown extraordinary support for Nostradamus’s research into stabilizing the portals between two different worlds, even helping his teacher to ascend into Legendary not too long ago. Without question, a Legendary spellcaster who was gifted at dimensional discipline would definitely accelerate the speed of any correlated researches.

“Developing cargo freighters that could travel through the Void, grand-scale portals between worlds and sending multiple elite parties to explore fringe worlds, searching for suitable land… At least fifteen years, huh. Though it sounds long, to such high-end technology and the future of mankind, it’s incomparably fleeting.”

Joshua recalled Israel’s every past action and sensed that the truth was certainly so. His Majesty had already developed flight-capable aerial battleships while Nostradamus had constructed a portal network that connects all corners of the Empire. Apart from employing himself, they had definitely also sent quite a few parties to attempt exploring, although it appears that it did not go smoothly and in turn made them thought about seeking help from a Legendary champion.

It seems that the main thing is how to find a new world.

“Actually, our options weren’t limited to exploring the stars and migrating subsequently. In fact, we have a few simpler and quicker way to remove the hidden troubles.”

Having heard Joshua’s mumbling, Israel activated his bangle and reopened the dark dimensional doorway. “Humans would not be truly wiped out even if it’s an Abyssal invasion or the awakening of a World Will that bore ill-intent towards us,” Israel said flatly. “The ability of the various races on the Mycroft Continent are not weak and could confidently resist all threats—as long as we completely destroy that sealed World Will, the issue would be solved easily.”

Joshua could not help glancing sideways at Israel upon hearing those words. The Emperor had uttered those words with nary a change in expression—in truth, he was so relaxed it was as if he was not talking about killing the Mother of All who nurtured the diverse races, and about slaughtering an orc. The warrior could even see a rather wild glint in Israel’s gaze. However, the Emperor soon shook his head and rejected the idea.

“It’s a pity. My ancestor left a rule that we could not directly kill It as a being that was nurtured by It. Even if It was slain, it would simply be completing the requirements for the advent of the Evil God [Apocalypse]. Other World Wills would in turn grow to despise us matriarch-slayers, a cost that completely outweighs gain.

There is no unconditional love in this world just as there is no unconditional hate. Joshua had some ideas as to why the world would choose to abandon humans and pick magical beasts instead, even if Israel did not reveal his own. In the Glorious Era, when the Mycroft Continent fought against the Evil Gods and the Abyss, the Mother Goddess had been one of the ones who resisted the external invasion. As an incarnation of the land itself, it undoubtedly had a tight connection with the World Will. In the end, when the Mother Goddess was maimed and virtually dissipated, the events that unfolded in between must have influenced the choice made by the World Will.

Joshua was unwilling to meditate on the unusually disgusting intrigue behind, not because of his reluctance to accept it but because it was meaningless. Since the matter has already happened it did not matter who was right or who was wrong—or what quite simply, what transpired. He would only choose to help humans to transcend that difficulty.

In seconds, the two stepped through the portal and returned to the secret meeting room in the Void Star-Observatory. The unnamed fairy queen too, welcomed them with her joyful voice. “The seal is working well. The maintenance is not bad, Israel.”

“That’s for sure. How are your injuries?”

Joshua knew from the two’s exchange that the fairy was that earth-elemental queen who had been heavily injured in Fairyland. Although her voice was certainly a little weak when he listened closely, it remained that she had recovered significantly.

Regarding what Israel had said regarding the Evil God [Apocalypse], Joshua knew that it was no alarmist talk but the truth. Most Evil Gods had no way of invading a complete and orderly world—it was only through fulfilling a set of conditions that they could descend from the other end of the void. As an example, the Evil God [Calamity] must destroy virtually every life cycle on the world of Illgner and cause drastic changes that even the World Will trembled in rage at. Another example was the Evil God [Pestilence] that needed the life of an entire world to go extinct through plagues, while [Famine] possessed the ability to explore other worlds, running into its true form in the Void.

While every Evil God possessed special conditions to be activated, the facet in which [a world possessed many beings that were aware of their true face] was a similarity all those Evil Gods shared. In the Glorious Era, it was precisely because of extreme prosperity and the invasion from the endless Abyss that caused tremendous battles and plagues, in turn instantly attracting Evil God beings such as [Fertility], [Pestilence] and the like. If the World Will was utterly killed, the same problematic situation a thousand years ago would be repeated, perhaps with the addition of the Evil God [Apocalypse].

Joshua showed a complicated expression at the thought. He initially believed that he had solved most problems and lay any relevant countermeasures such as the plague of berserker dragons, the continuation of the world or even Abyssal invasions. In the end, he never imagined that the Mycroft Continent would so many subsequent issues—the malevolent land, Evil Gods and exploration of new worlds.

Really, if it had been the pre-existence this would have been just some replacement contents in later expansions—all of which are territory that I’ve never touched.

The warrior did not show any depressed expression despite such thoughts. As a matter of fact, Joshua appeared delighted—his gaze, penetrating the alloy shell of the Void Star-Observatory, watched the dimensional turbulences in the Void and reveled in the joy name challenge.

The road ahead was certainly difficult, but it was nothing that monumental. Since he could solve all those troubles before by himself, he had gained many companions and the circumstances of this world were far better than before—there was no reason they could not solve the problems.

Even if the Mycroft Continent was virtually ruined twenty years later in the pre-existence, the ability to retaliate against the Abyss and ambush Abyssal Lords remained. And the circumstances now were not as worse then.

Soon, when Israel finished speaking with that Fairy Queen, he turned and called out to Joshua, who appeared intending to leave again.

“Noble Radcliffe.”

At that moment, Israel was using a formal title—Joshua could tell at once that he certainly had something to trouble himself and yet was nothing official related to saving the world, but something private to him.

As expected, Israel hesitated before speaking. “Although it’s rather sudden, I have something that I need to entrust upon you.”

After Joshua nodded in agreement, His Majesty revealed his request.

“I have two sons…”

*****

When Joshua stepped out of the portal and returned to Moldavia, there was a little humor in his heart.

Israel, who had been determined, decisive and direct in his actions remained troubled like a father when he spoke of the topic regarding his descendants. While he certainly did not show too much emotion, to Joshua who was a Legendary champion as well, it was sufficient to reveal the hesitance in the Emperor’s heart.

“The Second and the Seventh Prince, huh… That’s right, the former was the iron-blood Emperor who truly proved his worth in the pre-existence, while the latter is the only child of the Empress as well as his youngest.”

Managing a great Empire greatly shredded Israel’s time and strength. If it was not to ascertain the stability of the Northern Empire, His Majesty perhaps would have simply headed out to explore other worlds by himself instead of entrusting the matter to Joshua. So that he would be spared from that gigantic vortex, Israel had already considered the matter of selecting a crown prince who would be the heir to the Empire as soon as the war against the orcs was over.

Now, it appeared that there was a little choice in his mind. Although Israel could see that the Second Prince who had great ability could inherit his throne, the Seventh Prince merely lost out in his meager age, not to mention that he had the rightful title as the child of the Empress, as well as the support of her allies. Choosing between the two definitely place the Emperor on the spot, and so he decided that Joshua choice would become one of the preludes to his choice.”

“Finding a time to meet isn’t something too difficult.” As the owner of a martial arts dojo in the pre-existence, Joshua was not repelled by the idea of accepting an apprentice. He had already selected quite a few excellent students from Winter Fort Academy on a nominal basis, having two more princes would not matter much—everything was fine as long as they passed his test.

As he slowly soared in the air, Joshua overlooked his own domain. At the moment, the Moldavian territories were already starkly different from what it had been a few years ago. Under the labors of engineers who wore enchanted armor, the entire territory was blanketed with stony paths that covered every corner, with every village—be it located deep within mountains or forests—were linked by a single path. Through the aid of such efficient channels, the cult and devil worshippers who acted on the basis of isolation no longer had any ground to grow.

Around the main city, the four satellite cities were gradually taking shape as well, with many shops within already beginning operations in service of the construction workers. As the higher-ups in the Northern Empire also deliberately spread low to medium magical technology, the entire Empire had undergone a large-scale urbanization, with the newly built satellite cities proving to be no exception. On both sides of the road, one could occasionally spot little towers akin to streetlights. Those were mana points where magical machinery could recharge, with plain suits of magical armor digging bases with the little towers as their center points as they constructed new buildings.

Right now, the Mycroft Continent was rapidly advancing towards ‘Magical Industrialization’ with the Great Mana Tide as a background setting. Thanks to the vast reservoirs of mana, most designs that dealt greater loss than gains and overburdening costs were now implementable, with the intermediate forces of the entire world expanding rapidly like a blowout. Many soldiers and knights whose innate talent or legacy paused at Steel or Silver tier would incessantly raise their threshold in the last few years, raising the entire world’s collective ability over several notches.

In Moldavia, quite a few elite knights had also risen from Silver to Gold. Joshua had recently gathered and taught every single one of them a compatible Kokyu-ho, while pointing out their flaws and path in which they could grow in the future.

However, when Joshua was admiring his own territory, he promptly sensed two familiar mana surges in the direction of the Great Ajax Mountains—the owners of whom he had just met a few days ago.

It was the mana ripples of two Legendary mages.

–What? Joshua blinked, feeling a little puzzled. Did Barnil and William not return to the Skypiercing White tower to continue their work as guest lecturers? Why would they return to his place again?

Since it was better to ask than to ponder, Joshua accelerated and dashed towards the Great Ajax Mountains.

In minutes, as a scarlet light cut through the clouds, Joshua slowly descended from the sky above, frowning at the two Legendary mages who were standing amidst the ridge of a mountain. “Honorable pair, why is my domain graced again? I remembered that your schedules should be lecturing at the Skypiercing White Tower…”

Joshua suddenly stopped mid-sentence, for he saw a pale-blue door opened, with many young mages with curious expressions streaming out from within and looking around at the Great Ajax Mountains.

“It’s co-curricular activities, Joshua. The Empire is recently jointly tackling certain topics in collaboration with the Skypiercing White Tower, including personnel exchange and training.”

The two Legendary mages who were guiding students through the portal rose into the air, with Barnil reaching Joshua first. The old mage who appeared to be brimming with wisdom and whose clothing had not a string out of place smiled, stroking his own heart. “We have recently informed you as well, and I recalled you giving your approval—but come to think of it, it should have been your assistant who helped you in that matter? You don’t appear to be a person who handles such administrative duties after all.”

There was no offense despite the old mage’s wording. There were many extraordinary individuals who owned large tracts of territories across Mycroft Continent, but they would not manage it—instead leaving such matters to their subordinates or assistants since they were only in charge of watching over it and not proficient in management. Joshua hence did not feel that anything was out of place and simply shrugged.

Research on the dimensional aspects? He guessed inwardly. Seems that Nostradamus wasn’t idling.

While Joshua spoke with the two Legendary mages, many Skypiercing White Tower mages who were exiting the portal looked up. They were not young, and each were dressed like students—definitely students under both Barnil and William. The young mages tried to catch a glimpse of the recently-ascended Legendary warrior—undoubtedly curious about the title of the ‘Youngest Legendary’. However, most felt dazed the moment they looked up, while others felt waves of fear thanks to their tough spiritual ability. It was the outcome after Joshua deliberately withdrew his presence since he did not want to injure the youths accidentally.

Even if some of these people were older than he was.

“Co-curricular experiment… You couldn’t be referring to the Squirming Forest?”

Joshua turned his eyes with a slight headache towards the surface at Barnil’s words. In the foot of the mountain below them, a huge layer of an ascended forest was slowly wiggling over the land, stretching out its branches and tentacles.

It was a spoil of war that the two Legendary mages had brought back from the Sixth Abyss. Through exquisite dimensional teleportation, they directly uprooted a large layer of Abyssal land and this forest, after which they simply placed them amidst the Great Ajax Mountains. According to William’s explanation, it was out of environmental issues that they did so, since these unique forest beings that grew innumerable tentacles and draconic scales only favored environments around volcanos that was filled with sulfuric odors.

And now, the Squirming Forest lived peacefully over the land, not quite causing issues like the warrior imagined.

“You two were saying that this forest is linked to Ancient Dragons.” Joshua stared at the abnormal otherworld forest; his tone had a tinge of curiosity. “Now that you have brought your students, there definitely has been some result from your study—what was it?”

Both Barnil and William looked at each other after hearing such frankness from Joshua.

This time, it was William who smiled.

“Really,” he replied, “We really made quite a few discoveries in just a few days of study.”