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 691: Gathering Within Deep Roots(2).
Kaito’s face flushed dark, his hand gripping the edge of his seat until the wood groaned under the pressure."You take responsibility? That is a grand word for someone who spends his days on the high peak, isolated from the daily bloodletting of our borders! We are not dealing with a simple hunting party, Soma. What if they are scouts for the Thirsty Bramble Fold? What if they are the vanguard of the demonic cultivators from the low plains? or just our enemies.""I said what I said, and I am not saying anymore on the matter," Soma replied, his voice flat and absolute. He leaned forward, his gaze locking with Kaito's."If you have a problem with my judgment, if you feel your position as an elder gives you the right to dictate who I bring into my family’s domain, we can resolve it the old way. Step into the arena, Kaito. Let us test who has the greater right to speak on the defense of this mountain."The challenge hung in the air, heavy and sharp. The "old way" was not a debate of words
Chapter 690: Gathering within Deep Roots(1).
The descent from the training field was not merely a physical journey; it was a transition from the sunlit, fragile beauty of the mountain’s crown to the calcified, enduring core of the spear-like peak.Master Soma Shirabe moved with the silence of a falling leaf, his haori trailing behind him like an ink-stained cloud against the cyan sky.Beneath the training courtyard, where the world fractured into a sheer drop of thousands of meters, a narrow, mist-veiled cleft in the rock opened into the mountain’s interior.This was the Sanctum of the Deep Roots.Unlike the airy, wood-and-paper residences above, the cavern was hewn from ancient, dark basalt. The walls were smoothed by centuries of wind and refined mana, adorned with perpetual flame torches that cast an orange-and-purple hue across the uneven, chiseled surfaces.The air here was dense, cool, and thrummed with the weight of generations. It smelled of ozone, old ink, and dry earth.As Soma stepped across the threshold, his footste
Chapter 689: The Fortress of Peaks.
“Like my brother told Kyoku earlier, we are from the Lunaris Sect… and that is the absolute truth of the matter,” Vesta answered the Master without hesitation, his tone calm yet firm, as though there was nothing more to add and nothing more to hide.A brief silence followed his words.The wind drifted softly across the training grounds, brushing past the garments of those present, yet within that silence, the Master’s mind was anything but still.“…mmh.”"It seems they are not lying," he thought quietly to himself, his sharp gaze lingering on Vesta for a moment longer than necessary. "Yet… I have never heard of this Lunaris Sect."His thoughts deepened, layering suspicion with curiosity."There is too much mystery surrounding this child. His aura is cyan in color… yet he claims to be a fire mage. That alone is strange. Fire cultivators—whether martial artists or mages—usually carry hues of orange, crimson, or deep red within their aura."His eyes narrowed slightly."Could it be a spec
Chapter 688: Hayate vs Vesta(2).
Before the first notes from the flute could even begin to flow and dance into the air, before the melody had the chance to take form, Vesta had already moved.Once again, he appeared directly before Hayate—his small frame cutting through the space between them with terrifying precision—his lips curled into that same confident smirk. This time, however, his attack was different.His palm extended forward, aimed directly at Hayate’s chest, carrying with it a silent yet overwhelming intent.Then it happened.Under a single breath, so faint it almost blended into the wind itself—“Gale Step.”Hayate’s voice barely existed, yet his body responded instantly, his figure blurred.His body shifted with the wind itself, leaving behind nothing but a fading afterimage—the illusion of where he once stood.Vesta’s palm struck forward, but instead of flesh, it collided with emptiness, dispersing the lingering image like mist under pressure.And within that same fluid motion, Hayate did not pause.He
Chapter 687: Hayate vs Vesta(1).
Kyoku did not say anything at first. He merely raised a brow at his master’s sudden declaration, the subtle shift in his expression betraying a flicker of curiosity rather than resistance.He did not question it, nor did he interrupt. That alone spoke volumes about his character—disciplined, composed, and deeply accustomed to his master’s unpredictability.Hayate, however, was a different story.The moment those words left their master’s mouth, Hayate was visibly taken aback. The request had caught him completely off guard. He had barely even had time to properly meet or understand these guests, and now he was being told to spar with one of them.His eyes widened ever so slightly, and for a brief moment, confusion flickered across his face. From that alone, one could clearly see the contrast between him and Kyoku.Where Kyoku embodied stillness and restraint, Hayate carried a lighter, more vibrant energy. There was a natural openness to him, an ease that suggested he preferred enjoyme
Chapter 686: The Challenge of the Master.
Morning came the next day, and with it came a transformation that made the entirety of Nodoka village feel like a living, breathing entity awakening from slumber. The sun, though meant to illuminate the land in full brilliance, could not be directly seen from within the village itself.Perched high upon the mountain’s crown, the village was cradled by towering cliffs and jagged elevations that obstructed the horizon. One would have to walk all the way to the edges of those cliffs, where the world seemed to fall away into endless depth, to truly behold the rising sun.And yet, despite its hidden presence, the light of morning spread everywhere, soft yet undeniable, bathing rooftops, pathways, and faces alike in a gentle golden hue that spoke of a new beginning.Life surged through the village in waves.Noises erupted throughout Nodoka as its people returned to motion. The once-quiet streets now hummed with activity—footsteps, chatter, distant laughter, and the unmistakable sounds of da
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