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Chapter 153

At that time.

A new king ascended to the throne in Hatzfeld.

“What’s happening?”

“The king has given up his position?”

“Is he ill or something?”

The people of Hatzfeld were unaware of the tragedy that had unfolded in the royal palace. All the nobles present there had kept their silence.

The current king announced his abdication and transfer of power to his successor.

“He was very healthy. Why?”

“Maybe he simply wants to rest?”

“Perhaps so. He has fought a series of conquests, so he must be quite fatigued.”

Although the sudden succession surprised the people of Hatzfeld, they soon accepted it.

The king of Hatzfeld had continuously waged wars to strengthen the kingdom, personally leading troops to subdue various nations.

With the kingdom now prosperous and powerful, he likely wished to set aside his burdens.

After all, he had two strong sons, both of whom were part of the Twelve nebulas, the future twelve-star lords.

Of course, the second son, Dirk, had recently suffered a crushing defeat by Rehinar. But prior to that, he had made no mistakes.

It would be unfair to judge Dirk solely on a single failure.

His achievements until now numbered in the dozens.

For most, this one loss was simply seen as bad luck.

Meanwhile, a young man and a rough-looking individual emerged from the crowd and headed into an alleyway.

“Something doesn’t feel right.”

“One of our people is gathering intel. Just wait a moment.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a man in black dropped down.

“According to reports, the King has transferred the throne to the First Prince.”

“So suddenly?”

“But there’s a strange air in the palace. Even the nobles looked terrified.”

Ray thought for a moment before speaking.

“It seems the House of the Sun has intervened.”

“So soon?”

“They would have framed it as a justification, claiming we betrayed them.”

They had disrupted the House of the Sun’s plans in Medi Island.

Not to mention, they had sided with Kane.

The battle among the visitors on Medi Island had halted instantly due to the presence of the Barbarian Lord.

The reputation of the Barbarian Lord had that effect.

With his interference, they knew obtaining Temu’s magical robe was now out of reach.

Less blood was shed than expected.

When that wasn’t enough, they released mutant monsters, but even they were stopped.

The House of the Sun had every reason to be frustrated and angry.

After all, it was their ally who had betrayed them first.

Even though Ray had acted on his own, Hatzfeld had to bear the consequences.

And the result was a shift in royal power.

“I anticipated this, but I didn’t think they’d move so quickly.”

“So where will we go next?”

Ray looked to the sky.

The aura of death covered the world.

[TL/N: Aura of death and oblivion energy are synonymous to each other.]

The people of Hatzfeld enjoyed their festivities, blissfully unaware.

“We’ll wait for Kane Rehinar at the final destination.”

“And where is that?”

“The Tower of the Sun. It’s where the head of the House of the Sun resides.”

The Barbarian Lord laughed harshly.

“So, all we have to do is kill him?”

“Yes. Once he’s dead, everything will fall into place. You’ll no longer be a nomad but part of the continent.”

“All we need is a land to settle on.”

“You’ll surely obtain it.”

With that, they left Hatzfeld.

* * *

The Next Morning

Kane was preparing to leave the village with Chrysalis.

“Did you pack everything?”

“What’s there to pack? I am space personified.”

She created a pocket dimension. Inside, there was everything one could need.

It was beyond the level of a spatial pouch. Her dimension contained a house, water, even mountains—a true space of her own. It was a place to rest when she grew weary, a fitting power for a dragon controlling space.

It was one part of her that even Kane, as a human, couldn’t help but envy.

“Let’s go.”

“Where shall we go first?”

“The Phoenix’s Nest is the closest.”

The Phoenix’s Nest was on Lava Island, located at the southern edge and quite near.

“If we fly, we’ll arrive quickly,” she remarked.

Kane shook his head. “We can’t just fly there.”

“We absolutely have to take a ship.”

“Why is that?”

“You’ll understand once you see it.”

As they stepped outside, the villagers from the dragon tribe were waiting.

“Please be careful, Lady Chrysalis.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t accompany you…?”

“Perhaps it would be wise to take an aide along…”

Everyone was worried for her.

To the dragons, she was more than just a leader—she was their very identity. It was no exaggeration to say that without her, the dragons might not even exist.

For someone as crucial as her to leave the village, even temporarily, was naturally worrisome.

“Everyone, stay safe. I’ve crafted this place into a new space, so no one from outside will be able to enter. And Ellara…”

“Yes, Lady?”

“Do not open the barrier for anyone unless the message comes directly from me, no matter what. Even if something happens to me. Understood?”

“I will.”

She insisted upon this with urgency.

The House of the Sun would soon realize their plans had failed and would send people to investigate. They would attempt to break into the village by force.

As long as no one exited, they would remain safe.

With farewells said, the three departed the village of the golden dragon and set off for the Phoenix’s Nest.

They took a ship from the golden dunes, heading southwest.

“The air around us is heating up,” Mikhail noted.

For Mikhail to feel it, the air had to be scorching. He had the Fire Rune and could withstand considerable heat.

After all, he was a blacksmith who spent his days before blazing furnaces.

Yet, it was hot enough for him to raise an alarm.

“We’ll need to shield the ship.”

Kane looked down at Blata.

“Me?”

“You’re the one for the job.”

“What about her?” Blata pointed to the dragon.

“Protecting the ship with mana is a critical task. If it melts, we’ll end up stranded at sea.”

“Still, it’s a hassle…”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to do it. Too bad—I was planning to offer you the joint top rank.”

“Joint top rank?”

“Didn’t you say this was important?”

“Then I’ll do it! After all, there’s no one else as qualified to be joint rank one as I am.”

Blata sprang to the front of the deck, wobbling as he moved.

What a simple, adorable guy. Falling for that little lie so easily.

“Hehe, I’m joint rank one!”

Blata surrounded the ship in a barrier of blood magic. Instantly, the scorching air was blocked.

As the ship moved forward, the intense heat tried to penetrate through his blood barrier.

If he had been even a bit slower in protecting the ship, everything would have melted under the intense energy.

“Blata, increase the shield’s power.”

A moment later, the ship was pulled into the entrance of a massive cave. The sea was red.

“A crimson sea?”

“First time seeing it?”

“I’d only heard of it. Never actually seen it.” Chrysalis nodded.

“Then you know where we’re headed next.”

“Are we really going in there?”

“We have to. This is the entrance to the Phoenix’s Nest.”

As they moved further in, the ship began to spin. The crimson sea churned into a whirlpool, pulling the vessel deeper and deeper until it started to vanish from sight.

“W-what?” Blata stammered.

Without magical protection, he was certain the ship would be torn to pieces. The ship was even submerging into the water, meaning they might soon be running out of air.

Blata was caught off guard by the unexpected situation.

“We’re going underwater. Just maintain the barrier and use mana to breathe.”

The ship continued moving underwater, as if being guided along a path, heading somewhere unknown.

“Once we pass through here, we’ll reach the Phoenix’s Nest.”

This was why they couldn’t come using Chrysalis’s back. Her enormous size would have made it impossible to enter even the entrance.

---

With a loud crash, the ship emerged from the crimson sea.

The intense heat was gone, and the air returned to normal.

“Hehe… Hahaha!”

Blata laughed maniacally, as if savoring his success. Then he looked at Kane, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

‘How’s that? The crisis management skills of a joint rank one.’

His eyes practically begged for praise. Knowing he’d sulk if ignored, Kane obliged.

“Well done. Thanks to you, we arrived safely.”

“Nobody else could handle a technique like this. You know that, right?”

“That’s why I left it to you.”

“She couldn’t do it, either.”

Blata pointed at Chrysalis.

Kane responded with encouragement once again.

“Of course.”

“Hehe, just let me know whenever you need help—I’ll gladly step up.”

“Will do.”

Kane exchanged a glance with Mikhail and shook his head slightly, as if to say, There’s no stopping him. Mikhail nodded subtly in agreement.

Once they disembarked, Chrysalis pointed forward.

“It’s the oblivion energy. It doesn’t seem like it was extracted too long ago.”

The three of them moved inside.

Below them was a floor of molten lava, flowing between cracks in the ground. In the massive cavern, people were bustling around, led by someone who seemed to be the one in charge.

“We don’t have time! Increase the Oblivion energy to maximum output and extract as much Elixir as possible.”

The man wore attire similar to the third elder’s, appearing to be in his thirties.

As he issued orders, he turned and noticed them, his eyes widening in shock when he saw who it was.

“Kane Rehinar!”

Kane was the top threat on the Meyer Family’s watchlist, someone the family head had warned to be wary of. The recent news that the third elder had been defeated by him had left them stunned; they could hardly believe it.

The deaths of both the first and third elders at Kane’s hands were a major blow. It had been a long time since the Meyer Family had lost so much of their leadership.

This man, however, felt a bit safer knowing that, even with the danger, the Phoenix’s Nest was a protected place. The crimson sea had been a mere decoy—the real base was hidden underwater. Only a few people on the continent could even reach this place, and without the Meyer Family’s passageway, they couldn’t have brought in so many people.

“So, you’ve found this place after all!”

The man immediately shifted to a defensive stance. Seeing the elder’s reaction, the other members of the Meyer Family stopped their work and prepared their magic.

Zing—

Magic circles appeared in their hands, ready to be activated.

“Trigger the magic circles and set off the Oblivion energy!”

The man reacted swiftly, not attempting to counterattack like the third elder but preparing instead to blow up the entire site. In an instant, he and theMeyer Family members vanished from sight, concealed by a magic circle. It was a stalling tactic, aimed at buying time to detonate the oblivion energy.

“Chrysalis, stop the detonation.”

Her eyes gleamed.

No incantation, no ritual.

Her magic activated in a flash, dismantling the enemy’s magic circle with ease. Their concealed forms were immediately revealed.

Then, a wave of blood energy swept across the area.

Boom!