Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3040: Threats & Weaknesses

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Dark Realm, Gelid Alps, Snow Elven Region, High Snow District, Snow Capital

Every Half-Blood confined within the Heathen Stone Prison was surrounded by a dozen of the Snow Elven Crown Prince’s specialized clones. Each clone had received one, and only one, order. Kill the Half-Blood under its watch the instant the Crown Prince gave the command.

After the Heathen Stone Laboratory had been destroyed by the masked Curse Master’s ally, the Crown Prince had come to one conclusion. The masked Curse Master wasn’t acting alone. Nor was he short of tricks.

Determined to make good on his threat, the Crown Prince had tightened the prison’s defenses to an extreme. He intended to ensure that, if push came to shove, not a single Half-Blood would leave the prison alive.

Following the laboratory’s destruction, the Crown Prince fully expected the masked Curse Master’s mysterious ally to infiltrate the Heathen Stone Prison next. After all, that was where the Half-Bloods, along with the other inmates, were now being held.

Yet, the intruder never appeared. At least, not where the Crown Prince expected. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that someone capable of concealing themselves from his and thousands of his clones’ senses inside the Heathen Stone Laboratory had perished in the explosion he triggered.

No. The Crown Prince was convinced the intruder had already infiltrated the Heathen Stone Prison and was watching his every move from the shadows. That was precisely why he had ordered his specialized clones to take the Half-Bloods hostage. Yet the intruder never revealed themselves.

Not when the masked Curse Master had been trapped within his layered Domain combination. Not when he had detonated the Domains in an attempt to kill him. Not even now, when the masked Curse Master stood alone against more than a dozen Ruler-class beings, each stronger than the last.

The intruder remained hidden. The Crown Prince couldn’t understand why. What made the Heathen Stone Prison different from the Heathen Stone Laboratory? Was it because he had taken the Half-Bloods hostage?

Inside the laboratory, there had been no collateral to exploit. Failure would’ve cost nothing more than the loss of an opportunity. The Heathen Stone Prison was different. The slightest mistake would trigger the immediate execution of nearly one thousand Half-Bloods before any rescue could begin.

“…Is that it?” the Crown Prince wondered. Had he finally discovered the masked intruders’ weakness? Were the Half-Bloods the one thing they couldn’t afford to lose? If so, then, for the first time since the masked Curse Master had appeared, the initiative was no longer entirely in his opponent’s hands.

Back at the Snow Capital’s frontline, the Snow Elven Crown Prince’s clone carefully observed the masked Curse Master’s eyes and body language before making a calculated threat.

“Surrender now,” the clone declared, “or I will begin executing the Half-Bloods, one for every minute you delay.”

It had originally intended to say every second. But that would have been a bluff too outrageous to maintain. The Crown Prince could afford to sacrifice one or two Half-Bloods to prove his resolve. He couldn’t afford to throw away dozens of them in mere moments. So he deliberately chose a pace he could realistically sustain. Even in his threats, he refused to make promises he couldn’t keep.

While the clone issued its ultimatum before the assembled coalition, the real Crown Prince was already tightening the Heathen Stone Prison’s security even further.

He feared that his threat would finally force the mysterious intruder lurking within the prison to reveal themselves. Acting on that suspicion, he ordered his specialized clones to take even more decisive measures, ensuring that every Half-Blood remained only a single command away from death.

“Don’t do anything foolish,” the clone continued, its icy gaze fixed on the masked Curse Master. “Or every one of them will die because of you.”

The warning wasn’t truly directed at the masked Curse Master but his hidden ally the Crown Prince believed had already infiltrated the Heathen Stone Prison. He wanted the Masked Curse master to keep his allies in check, understanding that the lives of nearly one thousand Half-Bloods now rested on their restraint.

Meanwhile, the allied coalition was thoroughly confused. They had answered the Snow Elven Crown Prince’s call because they believed the Snow Elves had encountered a threat they could no longer handle on their own. Yet, from everything they had seen and heard since arriving, that didn’t appear to be the case.

The Snow Elves clearly feared the masked Curse Master. That much was undeniable. Yet, at the same time, they also behaved as though they held something over him. The contradiction puzzled every Ruler-class being present.

None of them knew what was truly happening behind the scenes. None of them understood what the masked Curse Master was after, why the Crown Prince refused to yield, or why both sides seemed convinced they possessed leverage over the other.

For now, they chose to remain silent. After all, they hadn’t come to mediate. They had come as the Snow Elves’ overwhelming show of force. So they simply stood there, their gazes fixed on the masked Curse Master, waiting for the Crown Prince’s command to prove exactly why they had been invited.

Meanwhile, deep within the Snow Capital, the City’s grand Array Formation suddenly came to life. Without warning, an overwhelming pillar of destructive power descended upon the Heathen Stone Prison.

The prison’s formidable defenses barely had time to react before the Array’s attack crashed into them with devastating force. A deafening explosion echoed beneath the city. The Heathen Stone Prison was obliterated.

In the very next moment, a dense black mist erupted from the ruins, spreading rapidly through the shattered prison complex. Within seconds, the entire site vanished beneath the rolling sea of black fog, concealing everything inside from sight and spiritual perception alike.

What had just happened, no one knew. But one thing was certain. The Crown Prince’s most heavily guarded prison had just become the center of complete chaos.