Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2659: All Hail The Southern Hope!

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, Teleportation Hub

”We are here,” I said to Petra as we emerged within the teleportation hub of Sky Blossom City.

The moment my words settled, I realized we were not alone.

Anna stood at the forefront, flanked by Susan, Jill, Corey, Cortney, Cindy, and the others, all waiting in disciplined silence. Beyond them, the plaza had transformed into a living formation. The Fine Gold Guards were arrayed in immaculate ranks, armor catching the light like sheets of molten sun. The Bright Lion Gang stood nearby, their presence less formal but no less imposing, eyes sharp and posture resolute. Behind them gathered the Rehabilitated Criminals Army, the Sin Army, assembled with an almost solemn gravity, as if determined to prove that their past no longer defined their blades.

Encircling the hub, the regular employees along with citizens who filled every balcony, street, and skyway overlooking the platform. Their voices had fallen into a reverent hush, replaced by a solemn weight in the air, as though the city itself had drawn a breath. All eyes were fixed upon the teleportation array, upon us.

This wasn’t just a grand reception, but the acceptance of my true form. My gaze drifted to Cindy. She stood composed among the others, calm but with a mischievous glint in her eyes as ever, there was no mistaking her role in this. She controlled the teleportation array network. Without her warning, without her coordination, such a gathering would have been impossible.

The sheer scale of it sent a quiet tremor through me.

Beside me, Petra’s eyes widened, her posture tightening as suspicion flickered across her expression. For a brief moment, she seemed to wonder whether this was an ambush of my making, an elaborate trap meant to close around her the instant she stepped forward. I paid it no mind and moved ahead, intending to address the gathered forces.

I never got the chance.

Before a single word could leave my mouth, the crowd spoke as one.

Their voices rolled across the teleportation hub like a controlled thunderclap, unified, disciplined, and heavy with reverence.

”All hail the Southern Hope!”

”Bearer of Hope! Anchor of the South!”

”By your will, we stand!”

The proclamation reverberated through stone and steel, through armor and bone, carried not merely by lungs but by conviction. The very air seemed to vibrate with it.

The Fine Gold Guards moved first. Clad in radiant armor, they shifted with flawless precision, as though rehearsed a thousand times. Every guard struck fist to chest in perfect unison, the impact ringing out like a ceremonial bell.

”By oath and gold, we endure!”

”Command us, Southern Hope!”

”Our blades are ready. Our lives are yours!”

Their formation did not waver for even a heartbeat, yet the strain was visible. It was as if sheer discipline alone held them upright, resisting an instinct deeper than training, the urge to kneel before something they recognized as greater.

The Bright Lion Gang followed, less rigid but no less fierce. Led by Aurelia Malvin, they stepped forward as one, heads lowered in respect rather than submission. Their voices rose louder than the rest, burning with pride and battle-hardened loyalty.

”The Lion bows only to Hope!”

”Where you walk, we follow!”

”Let the South roar!”

This was not worship. It was allegiance, earned through blood and battle.

Then came the most striking sight of all, the Sin Army.

The Rehabilitated Criminals Army, led by Demigod Redfall and Yin Widow, lowered their grimoires and went to one knee in unison. The motion was heavy, deliberate, and absolute. Not born of fear, but of resolve. Their voices were rough and imperfect, shaped by hard lives and harder choices, yet utterly sincere.

”Witness us!”

”We were broken!”

”By the Southern Hope, we stand redeemed!”

For them, this was not a greeting. It was a vow, spoken aloud and renewed before the entire city.

Then my three queens, Anna, Susan, and Jill, ascended the teleportation platform and came to my side. Their steps were elegant and unhurried, each movement carrying a quiet authority that drew every gaze in the hub toward them. They did not need to announce themselves. Their presence alone was enough.

As they took their places beside me, anticipation tightened in my chest. Anna and Jill had already acknowledged me openly, their choices made without hesitation. Susan, however, had yet to do so. Before the eyes of the entire city, I found myself waiting, wondering whether she would accept me here and now, with no veil of privacy to soften the moment.

I never received my answer. The fragile stillness shattered as Petra suddenly broke formation, rushing past us toward Cortney’s side. Her composure fractured completely as she shouted with a sharp alarm and disbelief, ”Bloodette!!!”

The girls turned toward me at once, suspicion plain in their expressions. I raised both hands slightly and shook my head, projecting innocence as I explained, ”That’s the Stone Supreme, Petra Petros. We met at the Way Beyond. Apparently, she and Bloodette are best friends, so I brought her along.”

”Oh.”

Anna and Jill exchanged a glance, then nodded in understanding. A heartbeat later, realization struck, and they cried out in unison, their voices sharp with disbelief, ”You brought a supreme being into the city? What is wrong with you?”

”Relax. I’ve got her under control,” I replied nonchalantly. I then reached into my spatial storage and produced two unconscious figures. ”Here, take them. They might need some... therapy.”

I handed the unconscious guard captain to Anna and passed the equally unconscious Sean Brothwork to Jill. I felt a twinge of sympathy for the Guard Captain, but none at all for Sean. If anything, he had earned every mental bruise.

Turning back to Susan, I asked in concern, ”By the way, where’s Dredre?”

”She’s in the dungeon seal with Bloodette,” Susan replied. ”Keeping her company.”

I nodded, a quiet smile forming on my lips as I thought of how far Dredre had come. Almost unconsciously, my gaze drifted back to the gathered forces, to the city standing in unified silence. Only then did it truly sink in that this grand reception was a measure of my own journey as well, a reflection of just how far I had come.