Advent of the Archmage

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Updated by NovelFull.Net

Dragon Valley, outside the mist maze

“No, Halino, the Dragon Valley will no longer be a party to any wars in the continent,” said the Red Dragon Queen’s illusion. In the illusion, her dragon body lay coiled up on the ground. She was gazing at the Light Magician, her golden gleaming eyes half-closed.

Still, Halino did not give up. “Your Highness, you don’t look too good. Did something happen in the Dragon Valley?”

“There’s been no other incident since the opening of the crack. We already have our hands full with it. It was our mistake to begin with, so naturally, it falls to us dragons to keep the crack closed. I’m sorry, but it is beyond our power to intervene in anything else right now.”

The Red Dragon Queen’s voice was deadpan as if she could not be bothered with anything else in the world. When she finished, her eyes swiveled towards Eugene and then said, “Halino, do you really intend to find the Book of Creation’s fragments with Eugene? Are you not worried that he has other plans for them?”

“Of course I’m worried, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. It would be better if you could join us in our search. It’s a shame, really…” Halino shrugged, visibly disappointed by the queen’s refusal.

“I’m truly sorry,” said the Red Dragon Queen again, sighing.

Seeing her in such a state, The Dark Magician Eugene cackled. “Just give up, Halino. Your words won’t move her. She was the one who got dumped after all, and now look at her. You’re better off seeking a dog’s help instead of hers.”

“Eugene!” Halino was aware of Eugene’s sharp tongue, but he did not think that he would go this far!

As soon as Eugene said those words, the Red Dragon Queen’s illusion trembled violently. It was probably due to a sudden surge of emotion on her side. After a few seconds, the illusion vanished.

Eugene shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. “See, I told you. I don’t really know the specifics, but the fact that the lord of Ferde abandoned Dragon Power completely, and the dragon race in Ferde has withdrawn from the place meant that things did not end well between the two. But you should know, Link was a Dragon Duke before. So isn’t it reasonable to assume that he was the one who dumped the Red Dragon Queen?”

Despite their differences, Halino could not help but admit that Eugene’s words sounded reasonable. He let out a sigh. “Alright, I guess the only Emerald Council member we could go to now is the Mountain Sage himself.”

He turned around, ready to leave. But just then, there was a stir in the Mist Maze. After a while, a gigantic form burst out of the maze. It was the Red Dragon Queen Gretel.

With a loud thud, she landed on the ground, and the earth trembled. Eugene immediately took on a defensive posture. If there was one thing he had learned from his long life, it was that hell indeed hath no fury like a woman scorned.

But he thought wrong.

Gretel lowered her head and widened her eyes at Eugene. Her voice was still flat when she said, “Though you could have worded it nicely, you are right, Dark Magician. I’ve been dwelling in the past for far too long. Everyone experiences failures and setbacks. Link has also been no more than the child of a noble family once. If he can move forward, so can I!”

Hearing this, Eugene raised a brow. “Your Highness, you still haven’t let go of your little duke, have you? But no matter, we all have our little fixations. As long as you don’t hamper our plans, I’m fine with you tagging along.”

Gretel let out a humph. “You’re mistaken. I never said I would work with you. I’m only proposing my alliance with Halino. I couldn’t care any less about what happens to you.”

Eugene shrugged, but he muttered under his breath, “Such a vindictive dragon!”

Halino did not expect such a turn of events. He was happy. The Red Dragon Queen’s power level was not as high as theirs, but the extent of her power was vast, and she was also able to travel through dangerous places like the Sea of Void. She would make a valuable ally.

Feeling more optimistic, Halino said, “Great, then let’s go find Mountain Sage Heroto. I’m sure he’ll agree to join us.”

“Let’s hope so.” Eugene did not share his companion’s optimism.

…

North of the Black Forest, Skeletal Fortress

In the deepest depths of Skeletal Fortress, there was a secret room. In the middle of this room was an obsidian altar, and a blinding, red light was radiating from it. Beneath it, Molina the priest was kneeling on the ground, motionless.

This went on for an hour. Suddenly, a voice rang out from the red light.

“Katyusha’s soul is lost to us. We can no longer bring it back. However, our greatest concern now is not Katyusha, but those pointy-eared elves. The actions of those elves will bring destruction upon the Firuman realm. Go help them, and make sure their plans do not fail. Hehehe…”

“But Master, Katyusha…” Molina still could not come to terms with what happened to her sister.

“Katyusha was weak. She has failed me twice. There won’t be a third time! Molina, she’s gone forever. Do you understand?” said the cold voice from the red light.

Molina felt a sudden chill. “I understand, Master.”

“Good. Now go. Let the pathetic creatures of this realm see for themselves how these elves came to destroy their own world. Hahaha, idiots, the lot of them.”

The voice gradually faded away. Finally, the room once again fell into silence.

Molina was still kneeling on the ground. Five minutes later, she wiped the tears from her eyes and whispered, “Goodbye, Katyusha.”

She stood up and walked out of the room. There were three Legendary Nagas already waiting outside the room.

Molina had regained her authoritative demeanor as a Naga Priest. She said with a low voice, “Alright, Master has given us his orders…”

…

The High Elves were not wasting any time on the Isle of Dawn as well. They were already in the midst of the realm reunification’s preparations.

…

The High Elf royal palace, Andwar

The High Elf Queen was listening to her subordinates’ reports on their progress.

“Your Highness, we’ve already begun the reunification runestone’s construction. With our current rate of progress, we’ll have it ready in approximately 14 months.”

“Very good. Has contact been made with Princess Milda on the other side?” asked the queen.

The one who answered her was King Mordena. He stepped forward, frowning. “We’ve made contact, but Milda did not agree with what we’re doing. No matter how I tried explaining it to her, she still strongly objected to it.”

“Uhm?” The queen was confused. “Did you not explain to her the current state of the Firuman continent?”

“I did, but she said that the risks of reuniting the two realms are huge and that there is a better solution to our problem. She has even proposed an alternative.”

“What alternative?” The queen was troubled. She would not have been as upset if it had been the elders who objected to her wishes. But this was her own daughter they were talking about. In the past, Milda had always been the respectful and compliant daughter. Now, she seemed to think that she now stood on equal footing with her own mother. Was this still the same obedient Milda she had raised?

“She said that her power had reached Level-16. She’s also now a priest of the Blazing Fire sect. With your consent, she could send two Level-14 Inferno Warriors to help us out.”

In truth, King Mordena thought that her daughter’s plan was excellent. Deep down, he felt that the reunification of the two realms was just too risky. One mistake was enough to set off a catastrophe of a magnitude that surpassed even the Mana Disaster.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the queen immediately waved a dismissive hand. “The realm reunification will proceed as planned. There’s no turning back now. What we should be discussing now is how best to reduce the risks we’re running instead of switching plans halfway through!”

Seeing that her husband still had second thoughts, she said even more assertively, “King Mordena, two Level-14 Inferno Warriors are certainly powerful, but can they take on Ferde’s Mage Tower themselves? The power of that Mage Tower is not to be taken lightly. Not even a hundred Inferno Warriors would be enough to resist its attacks, let alone two. And so what if we manage to kill Link? The humans remain numerous. Who’s to say another Link won’t rise up against us in the future? After reuniting the two realms, our forces will be in the millions. At that point, we’ll have both the all-powerful World Tree capable of fending off even gods and ten thousand years of magical knowledge on our side. Even if the humans are able to find allies of their own from the Aragu realm, they won’t stand a chance against us!”

Finally, she said, “Have you forgotten Ariel? She’s your daughter, and she’s also the first royal family member to be killed by a human. This affront will be paid in human blood!”

At this point, King Mordena could not say anything else to change the queen’s mind.

Though Milda had objected to this, the fact remained that she was still in another realm and did not fully understand Firuman’s current state. Her plan would only serve as a temporary solution to the High Elves’ troubles. On the other hand, the queen’s plan would completely turn the situation to their advantage. They would also finally be able to avenge Ariel’s death. King Mordena nodded and said, “I’ll contact Milda and have her full support on this matter.”

“Go then. Tell her that her sister was slain by the humans!”

King Mordena nodded, “As you wish.”

He turned to leave. Just then, a High Elf elder stepped forth and said, “Your Highness, we received word from one of our sentries that the Emerald Council will not support our plan and that they intend to stop us. They also seem to have known about the existence of the Book of Creation.”

He handed a letter over to the queen.

The queen gave it a glance, then fell silent for a few seconds. Finally, she said, “Take this to King Mordena. Tell him to ask Princess Milda to send over her two Inferno Warriors.”

At the moment, the High Elves were running short on powerful Warriors. There was no way they could oppose the Emerald Council’s Magicians on their own. They needed outside help right now.

“As you wish, Your Highness.” The elder immediately left the palace to carry out his order.

The rest of the High Elves then continued reporting their progress on different aspects of the realm reunification plan to the queen. As an ancient race, they had never done anything like this before, but there had been many scholars in the past who had explored the possibility of reuniting two realms and had even conducted large-scale experiments on the subject. Right now, aided by the wisdom of these scholars, the High Elves carried out every step of their plan steadily and without any trace of disorder.

As the winds of war began to blow across the continent, the Magicians of Ferde had also begun making their own preparations.