Chapter 245: The Gloomy Throne Arrives
In the Northwest Region of the continent, the Sal Plain.
A horned deer was leisurely munching on grass when it suddenly sensed something amiss. It abruptly raised its head and looked around.
In the next moment, a distortion appeared in the void, instantly tearing the deer into a cloud of blood mist. A black hole rapidly expanded from a small point, quickly transforming into a doorway three meters high and nearly two meters wide.
Figures clad in long robes emerged from within.
"So, this is the Starlight Continent," Andrew said, surveying the surroundings and curling his lip. "The concentration of energy particles is lower than I expected."
"After all, the Dimensional Barrier hasn't been fully repaired yet, and the Starlight Continent isn't the Main Plane. The concentration of energy particles definitely won't be as high as that of the Gloom Moon Plane," another person responded, taking over the conversation.
"That's true."
Andrew nodded in agreement, his peripheral vision catching Evan's tightly furrowed brow. He asked, "What's wrong, Evan?"
"I can't sense the presence of the Tower of Stars."
Hearing this, the others were immediately taken aback.
"What's going on?"
"Is there something wrong with the artifact?"
"That shouldn't be; this artifact was given to us by Lord Liam, and we even checked it before leaving to ensure it was working properly!"
"Could it be that the Tower of Stars was destroyed?"
The last statement was met with silence.
Then many began to laugh.
"How is that possible?"
"I don't think anything on the Starlight Continent could destroy the Tower of Stars."
"Milton, when did you become so humorous?"
The wizard named Milton shrugged, not denying it; he also found the suggestion somewhat absurd.
Evan raised his hand to interrupt the others and said in a low voice, "Regardless, the Tower of Stars has most likely malfunctioned. We need to locate the Tower of Stars and find out what's happening."
The others nodded in agreement, showing no objections.
"Tower of Stars is a hidden chess piece left behind by Gloomy Throne on the Starlight Continent. They don’t care whether they’ve recruited any ‘Slaves’ over the millennia; the Construct Potion and Spirit Pearl in the tower represent a substantial fortune, one that must be retrieved at all costs.
Evan continued, “The Dimensional Barrier here isn’t fully repaired yet. It will take time for Lord Liam’s Wizard Tower to pass through the barrier. Before he arrives, let’s gather intelligence first, preferably gaining control over a few countries. Once Lord Liam arrives, we can immediately begin the conquest of the Starlight Continent.”
Andrew chuckled, “If you ask me, we could control the entire Starlight Continent ourselves. There’s no need to wait for Lord Liam’s arrival.”
His statement was met with agreement from the others.
In their view, after a thousand years of blockade and energy deficiency, the inheritance and development of wizards on the Starlight Continent must have weakened to an extremely pathetic state.
It's doubtful whether any formal wizards remain on the Starlight Continent.
As for mere wizard apprentices and knights, no matter how many they are, they wouldn’t pose a significant threat.
After all, they have a full twelve wizards on their side!
“Don’t be careless. We have no understanding of the current state of the Starlight Continent.”
Although Evan agreed with Andrew in his heart, he still spoke with caution.
“Next, I will search for the whereabouts of the Tower of Stars. You all split up to gather intelligence and act as you see fit. If you have any important information, contact me via Bone Raven.”
Everyone nodded and then separated.
“Andrew, let’s see who can control the most territory first. How about it?”
Before they parted, one of the wizards shouted and laughed at Andrew.
Andrew glanced at him sidelong and replied, “Sure, what’s the wager?”
“Three bottles of Construct Potion.”
“It’s a deal!”
Andrew laughed heartily, and with a burst of energy, he shot into the sky, streaking away into the distance.
Before long, the outline of a town appeared in his vision, looking quite sizable.
Andrew’s heart filled with delight. He surveyed the city from above and quickly locked onto what appeared to be the most luxurious mansion within it."
To gather information, the fastest way was undoubtedly to find a local Noble Lord.
His figure flashed, and Andrew instantly vanished from the sky, reappearing inside a mansion.
He released his Spiritual Power to sense the surroundings and quickly identified a target, disappearing once again.
Inside the living room, Viscount Cullen was leisurely sipping black tea when, suddenly, a figure appeared before him.
"Who's there?!"
Viscount Cullen was startled and jumped to his feet. Just as he was about to react, his gaze met a pair of deep, unfathomable eyes.
As a flash of dark blue light flickered within those eyes, Viscount Cullen's movements froze, and his expression turned vacant. His eyes stared blankly ahead.
"So, he's a Legendary Knight," Andrew thought, surprised. He hadn’t expected the first Noble Lord he encountered to be a First Ring Legendary Knight.
With the scarcity of Energy, Legendary Knights should be rare, right? Or had the concentration of energy in Starlight Continent increased in recent years, resulting in a greater number of Legendary Knights?
Since there was someone to query right in front of him, Andrew didn’t hesitate and asked his questions directly.
The hypnosis he employed was impossible for even a First Ring Legendary Knight to resist.
Under its influence, Viscount Cullen spoke truthfully and answered all questions.
As Andrew listened, shock spread across his face.
Starlight Continent had actually been unified?
And a Wizard Organization with formal wizards had emerged?
Andrew felt a mix of suspicion and uncertainty. While the unification of Starlight Continent was surprising, he could accept it. However, the emergence of a Wizard Organization was highly unusual.
Considering the scarcity of Energy, there shouldn’t be many Wizard Apprentices in Starlight Continent. Even if the concentration of energy particles had increased over the last century or two, the growth in numbers should be limited.
Yet, according to this Noble Lord, the organization known as the Star Alliance not only possessed a Wizard Academy but had also cultivated tens of thousands of Wizard Apprentices!
What was even more unbelievable was that the Star Alliance had formal wizards—more than one at that!
"How is that possible?"
“Where did Starlight Continent obtain the resources to cultivate so many Wizard Apprentices and Formal Wizards?”
Andrew was filled with disbelief. Even if one were to tear apart the Tower of Stars and extract all its resources, it would still be impossible to reach this level.
If he didn't have confidence in his own hypnosis, he would have suspected Viscount Cullen was lying to him.
"That Wizard named Su Nan—where exactly did he come from?"
Andrew's heart brimmed with doubt.
A mere native of Starlight Continent could actually establish a Wizard Organization from scratch. Although it might not even qualify as a low-grade Wizard Faction, it was still an extraordinary feat.
He hadn’t anticipated that the Starlight Continent, which had fallen into the Elemental Desert, could produce such talent.
Had this been the golden age of Wizards a thousand years ago, Su Nan would undoubtedly have been recognized as another remarkable genius!
"What a pity; you were born at the wrong time."
Despite his sigh, Andrew's plans remained unchanged.
The Gloomy Throne was determined to acquire Starlight Continent. If Su Nan was willing to surrender and offer up the Star Alliance willingly, perhaps the Gloomy Throne would spare his life and allow him to join their ranks. Otherwise, they would have no choice but to eliminate him ruthlessly.
“Though he is a Wizard, those who advanced during the Elemental Desert Era are far inferior to those who emerged in a normal environment, whether in terms of foundation or combat power.”
“Hopefully, those individuals will recognize what's best for them. Otherwise, they will bear witness to what a true Wizard is really like.”
Andrew chuckled softly as he extended his index finger to touch Viscount Cullen's brow. He then pulled back, and a phantom grey shadow was slowly extracted from Viscount Cullen's body, struggling ceaselessly. It was bound by invisible restraints and unable to break free. All it could do was watch helplessly as it was injected into a gemstone, vanishing completely with a faint, miserable wail.
The gemstone glowed momentarily, transforming into a crystal-clear, light grey gem.
At the same time, Viscount Cullen's body went limp and fell onto the sofa, having already lost all signs of life.
“Soul quality isn’t bad.”
Andrew nodded in satisfaction, stowed away the Soul Crystal, and then strode outside.
The current situation on the Starlight Continent was somewhat beyond his expectations. Although he looked down on the natives of the Star Alliance in his heart, he would not be arrogant enough to think he could take on the Star Alliance single-handedly.
"It seems the bet will have to be called off."
Andrew had initially intended to select a powerful nation, display some strength, and force that nation's ruler to submit. But now, it appeared he needed to abandon that idea.
The most urgent matter was to meet up with his companions and then locate the headquarters of the Star Alliance to suppress it in one fell swoop!
"It's a pity this fool doesn't know where the Star Alliance's headquarters is. I suppose I’ll have to ask the emperor of the Prosperous Star Empire."
Stepping out of the living room, Andrew no longer concealed his presence and soared directly into the sky.
At the same time, the crow tattoo on the back of his right hand suddenly glowed faintly. In the next moment, it appeared to come to life, detaching from his skin and rapidly expanding into a human-sized crow made entirely of bones. It flapped its white bone wings and darted off into the distance.
The Bone Raven of Gloomy Throne was exceptionally skilled at searching. As long as they were within the same plane, even if separated by thousands of miles, the Bone Raven could locate any Wizard (Apprentice) who was also a member of Gloomy Throne and communicate remotely with its keeper.
In essence, it functioned like a remote communication tool with an automatic tracking feature.
Andrew released the Bone Raven in order to quickly find and join his companions.
However, the Bone Raven had barely flown a hundred meters when a bolt of lightning shot from the sky like a shooting star, shattering the Bone Raven into pieces with a loud bang.
Andrew's eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction the lightning had come from and saw a man in a long robe, sitting cross-legged on the back of a strange dragon-like beast.
The beast was more than ten meters long, its scales gleaming like pearls. Upon closer inspection, faint golden light flickered within, and its pair of silver wings appeared almost translucent.
Andrew immediately recognized the dragon-like beast.
It was a high-level Sub-Dragon known as the Storm Dragon Beast, also referred to as the Cloud Dragon or Wind Dragon. These creatures typically lived in the clouds and wielded the power to control storms.
"Judging by its size and the luster of its scales, the Bloodline concentration of the Storm Dragon Beast before him was clearly high. It was likely on the verge of a Bloodline evolution, probably at the Fourth Circle Legend level.
To subdue such a Storm Dragon Beast, the identity of the man in front of him was obvious.
“Star Alliance Wizard?” Andrew's eyes narrowed slightly.
The man smiled faintly and said, “You must be a Gloomy Throne Wizard. We’ve been expecting you for quite some time. By the way, where are your companions?”
Andrew's expression shifted at these words.
What was going on?
How could the Star Alliance know he was from Gloomy Throne?
From their words, it seemed the Star Alliance had been aware for a long time that they would invade the Starlight Continent soon.
Momentary suspicion and uncertainty filled Andrew.
“Don’t waste your breath on him, Sheman.”
A cold voice suddenly emerged from behind.
A man with an icy expression slowly rose into the air, blocking Andrew’s retreat. Together with Sheman, they surrounded him from both sides.
“We're fortunate; we just happened to be nearby to stop this guy. If we don’t finish him off quickly, once the Witch Hunter Legion arrives, the merits we worked so hard for will be lost.”
Sheman was momentarily stunned, then smiled and nodded. “You're right, Coley. We need to make this quick.”
Witch Hunter Legion?
To refer to it as a 'witch hunt' was somewhat arrogant and overbearing!
Yet what irritated Andrew even more was that these two spoke as if they had him all figured out, dismissing him entirely.
"What bold words!" Andrew sneered repeatedly. "I would like to see just how capable the Star Alliance Wizards are!"
Two mere ascended Elemental Desert Era Wizards, at most First Level Vaporization-stage natives, did they really believe a two-on-one would guarantee their victory?
The battle erupted almost instantly. The three uttered short incantations simultaneously, employing segmented spellcasting techniques.
In an instant, dazzling radiance erupted in the high sky!
Crack! Crack!
Countless grotesque, barbed bones burst from Andrew’s cracked skin, rapidly enveloping his entire body and expanding in size."
Though he disdained the so-called Witch Hunter Legion that his enemies spoke of, Andrew had no intention of facing additional opponents. Thus, he struck with all his might from the very beginning, unhesitatingly using his Innate Ability, aiming to quickly eliminate the two before him and then join his companions.
In the blink of an eye, a monstrous canine beast appeared high in the sky, its head and tail stretching over twenty meters. Its entire body was composed of layers upon layers of White Bone. Dense Negative Energy surged forth, as if dyeing the entire sky a faint, ashen gray.
“Is that a 【White Bone】 Talent Crystal?”
Sheman's eyes flickered, a sliver of silver light emerging from between his brows. This light quickly spread, causing his skin to instantly take on a bright silver hue.
Whish!
Countless streams of Silver Liquid erupted from every pore in his body, coalescing into sharp, pointed cones. They surged forth like a violent storm, crashing toward Andrew with a momentum akin to torrents overturning mountains and seas.
At the same time, Coley unleashed the same Innate Ability, sending silver cones skittering across the sky, all rushing toward Andrew in a frenzied assault.
Boom!
Unable to dodge, Andrew was instantly engulfed by the silver torrent!
The dense, sharp cones sliced and pierced him relentlessly, and in an instant, he felt as if he had fallen into a rapidly spinning turbine. The layers of White Bone covering his body were worn away into powder, and his immense White Bone form visibly shrank in the blink of an eye.
“What kind of Innate Ability is this?” Andrew exclaimed, shocked to his core.
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