2024-04-15 15:16:57Seven years ago, as Elias Hawthorne was preparing to close his herb shop on a peaceful night in Riverbend Hamlet, a small village located on the outskirts of Verdantia, he had to shut early.
Rumors of missing newborns were rampant, and it had been a busy day with many customers.
As he closed the shop, the sound of moving carriages at high speed and horses screaming pierced the night.
A banner flew into his face, bearing the emblem of the notorious Cursed Artificers Guild, which was allied with the missing babies.
Chills ran down his spine as he wondered what they were doing so far east.
After the silence that followed, a blast of light struck, momentarily turning night into day. The magical energy emitted shook the entire Aetheria realm.
Despite his shock, Elias's body moved towards the Silverwater River.
There, he found a white glossy carriage painted in blood, surrounded by a lot of dead bodies and horses.
The river ran red with blood. Among the dead were members of the Cursed Artificers Guild.
Inside the carriage, a woman lay dead, protecting something beneath her stomach.
Nearby were dead mages, seemingly protecting the carriage.
As he ventured further, pondering the source of the light and what had killed the members of the dark guild, Elias heard a baby's cry coming from the carriage he had just passed.
Realizing he hadn't heard it earlier due to shock, he hurried back.
The woman had been protecting a baby boy with brown skin.
It was evident that the dead were his parents, likely of noble blood, judging by the elite mages guarding the carriage.
Alongside the baby, there was something like a magic storage box that looked locked by magic.
Such boxes were rare and not easy to get, and it was small enough to fit in a pocket.
Additionally, the baby was wearing what looked like an enchanted pendant that was radiating weak magic. Elias wrapped the baby along with the box.
His instincts urged him to leave the scene quickly. As a retired mercenary who understood the corruption in the kingdom, he took the baby and left.
The sister from the orphanage located in Mossy Hollow listened skeptically as Elias Hawthorne explained how he found the baby.
However, she had no choice but to take the baby in, especially after feeling the powerful magic a week ago.
Elias couldn't care for the baby, so he left him in her care.
Before leaving, she asked him to give the baby a name, and he named him Oasis, after the desert kingdom of Avaloria, from where his brown skin likely originated.
Two weeks after the incident, news spread of the Divine King holy magic wielder,
Sir Roland Lightbringer from the Holy Cathedral, who single-handedly destroyed the three most powerful dark guilds: the Cursed Artificers, Obsidian Shadows, and Nightshade Assassins.
Since then, Sir Roland was titled "The Divine Avenger," and no dark guilds have been seen, thanks to his example.
When questioned about his presence in the east, far from the Holy Cathedral headquarters in the kingdom of Celestia in the western side of the realm,
Sir Roland explained that he had been tracking the incidents for some time.
The newborns of Celestia were also going missing, leading him to the dark guild from the south of the realm, the Cursed Artificers, rumored to have been seen in the east.
Despite the two kingdoms not being on talking terms, he had no choice but to go there and ended up destroying all the involved guilds, including the other two.
He emphasized , "I am acting in the best interest of mine kingdom and the realm's future."
And he did conclude, declaring, "If aught resembling doth occur again to mine kingdom, the Holy Cathedral shall not tarry in its actions."
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Chapter 606: The Silent Tempest’s Reintroduction.
“This group… they look like mercenaries. Or perhaps military deserters from some prominent family,” Yuri thought as he carefully observed the six armored figures before them.His gaze swept across their posture, their breathing patterns, the subtle discipline in the way they held formation.“If they are mercenaries, then they must have received a contract to kill Zane,” he continued inwardly.“But who commissioned it? And when was this plan set into motion? Was it before I joined the kid… or after?”His eyes narrowed slightly.“And yet the kid remains calm—even in a situation like this.”Yuri analyzed them one by one.“The one standing before Zane is an Enlightened cultivator. Another among them is also Enlightened. The remaining four are Awakened cultivators.”A faint tension settled in his chest.“These are not ordinary individuals.”While Yuri was immersed in his thoughts—The rough-voiced man who had spoken earlier stepped forward again.“Mm. Sharp tongue indeed,” the man said wit
Chapter 605: The Predator’s Delight.
“Mm… this kid is certainly different from the other children born into noble families. And so are his brothers.The same goes for their companions.Even though they don’t openly display their strength, one can tell—the way they carry themselves is different.”Yuri’s thoughts flowed calmly as he moved at high speed across the vast plains.Ahead of him, a massive tree trunk—torn loose from some storm—came hurtling sideways through the air, caught in the violent crosswinds of the region.Without breaking rhythm, Yuri tilted his body slightly mid-glide.His robe fluttered as he pivoted just enough for the trunk to pass within inches of his shoulder.The sheer force of its momentum stirred the air violently, but Yuri’s expression did not change.He flowed past it as if it had never existed.“Most noble children are greenhouse flowers,” Yuri continued inwardly. “Sheltered. Pampered. Raised under layers of protection.”His gaze shifted toward Zane’s back.“But this one… is different.”The wi
Chapter 604: The Sovereignty of the Forced Bound.
“I don’t know whether I am dreaming… or if someone cast a dangerous illusion spell on me.”Theodore stood alone in the very training field where Oasis had clashed with Vesta.His hands were clasped behind his back, fingers interlocked tightly as though grounding himself in reality.Above him stretched a clear sky, pale blue and serene, while thin clouds drifted lazily across its expanse—as if nothing extraordinary had happened beneath them.He tilted his head upward, staring at those clouds, shaking his head slowly in disbelief.The cracked stone floor still bore the scars of the battle.Fine fractures spidered across the training ground, faint traces of mana lingering in the air like the scent of burnt ozone after lightning.Yet the courtyard was quiet now. Too quiet.“Even if I had wanted to refuse… even if I had tried to remain polite and decline…” Theodore thought, exhaling deeply, “it would have been impossible.”His gaze lowered slightly, unfocused.“What that kid just gave me…
Chapter 603: The Afterglow of a Sage’s Birth.
Around the same time—at the Woods Estate.Within the guest courtyard where Lukan was lodging—He remained exactly where Oasis had left him.Seated cross-legged beneath the shade of a carved pavilion, a faint breeze stirring the edges of his robes, Lukan held a scroll—one he had written himself.The parchment was filled with tightly packed notes, diagrams of mana flow, and annotations scribbled in haste.His brows were furrowed deeply.“Damn… theoretically, I understand the technique,” Lukan thought, frustration flickering across his face.“But practically… it’s very difficult. What is it that I’m doing wrong?”He leaned back slightly, fingers pressing against his temple as he forced himself to think deeper—digging through every detail Oasis had explained.“Changing the water mana in the atmosphere into drops of water… then using those drops as blades or needles,” he muttered internally.“And all of this must be done within milliseconds—catching the opponent off guard without alerting
Chapter 602: The Weight of Departure.
“This is unbelievable. These children are amazing—definitely cut from an extraordinary fabric,” Theodore thought as he observed the scene before him.“And Oasis’s version of Destiny of Tomorrow… it’s something I would have never conceived,” Theodore continued inwardly, his gaze sharpening.“I used wind to collapse space, but the kid added his cyan fire to create a superheated vacuum.He expanded the air while simultaneously compressing it with wind, creating a tear in the atmosphere—one that travels faster than sound.Yes… that must be it.It’s essentially moving through a void of its own making. Terrifying… and magnificent at the same time.”His eyes gleamed with admiration, heart pounding with excitement rather than fear..“This is without a doubt a powerful variation of the technique. Too bad the kid is still in the Awakened Realm—he’s only using Awakened martial aura.I wonder how strong it will be once he can finally wield Enlightened martial aura.And if I think carefully about
Chapter 601: The Zenith of the Mirror(2).
The power being released by Oasis’s technique filled the entire manor.It was not a roar, nor an explosion—it was pressure.The air itself thickened as if the courtyard had sunk beneath a vast, invisible ocean.Mana screamed silently, bending inward toward the line of distorted space tearing forward from Oasis’s fingers.The stone beneath their feet groaned, spiderweb cracks racing outward as the technique passed overhead.Leaves, dust, and loose pebbles were lifted and frozen in midair, suspended by the sheer authority of the attack.As Destiny of Tomorrow surged toward Vesta—Vesta did not even attempt to lift his feet from the ground where they were trapped.Instead, he focused.In the span of a few milliseconds, cyan mana flooded downward into his legs.The earth around his ankles began to boil, not with heat alone but with violent mana agitation.Stone liquefied, trembled, then hissed as if resisting his will.Everything was happening too fast for an ordinary cultivator to even
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