Chapter 143. The Angels Are About to Arrive, Sacrificial Ritual
Kroll II recounted the entire chain of events at a rapid pace.
From Silver Oakleaf inviting disaster into its own house, to the Hydra Clan’s backlash, to Dragon Island’s Grand Elder confirming that the old serpent was on the verge of breaking through to Demigod, every word he spoke carried an unquestionable urgency.
Especially when he ntioned Dragon Island’s confirmation, he deliberately stressed his tone. Before the Ancient Council, the Dragon Clan’s judgnt carried far more weight than the intelligence of any human kingdom.
The twelve stone chairs fell into a long silence. The air in the hall seed to freeze solid, and even the dragon carvings on the stone pillars appeared to be holding their breath.
Kroll II kept his head lowered, cold sweat seeping into his palms. He knew that every second of waiting at this mont might determine the future balance of the continent.
After a long while, a voice finally ca from the last stone chair. It was ancient and majestic, carrying a decision that allowed no argunt.
“King of Kroll, your request is known to us. Angels will be sent to deal with it shortly. You may withdraw.”
Kroll II’s heart tightened. He wanted to ask exactly when, but he caught sight of the faint halos rising from the twelve stone chairs, a sign that the council mbers were about to disappear.
In the end, he forced down his urgency, bowed, and slowly withdrew from the hall.
The dim light outside the passage fell across his face, revealing a trace of relief, yet beneath it lay even deeper worry.
At the sa ti, in the depths of the distant Sacred Domain, within a crystal palace floating above a sea of clouds, the Angels who had been in council suddenly all looked up together.
An irresistible power descended from the sky. Golden light pierced through the do and illuminated the entire palace as brightly as day.
“A Demigod-level hydra has appeared on the Ninth Continent.”
That voice carried no emotion, yet it rang clearly in the ears of every Angel.
“Dispatch two Angels to capture it and send it to the Void Battlefield.”
“Yes.”
All the Angels dropped to one knee in unison, their white wings trembling faintly within the golden radiance.
The overwhelming power vanished as quickly as it had co, and the golden light in the palace gradually faded.
Seated upon the throne, the Angel Queen frowned deeply. Hydras were ancient aberrant species to begin with, and for one to break through to Demigod was already a rare occurrence. Yet it was to be sent directly to the Void Battlefield?
There was clearly a deeper consideration behind this. Still, she did not ask further. She rely turned to the guard at her side and said, “Carry out my order. Dispatch two Four-Winged Angels imdiately. They must bring the target back alive.”
“Your Majesty.”
The Six-Winged Angel beside her spoke, her tone tinged with displeasure.
“To deal with a hydra that has only just broken through, isn’t sending Four-Winged Angels making too much of it?”
“Besides, the Ninth Continent already has Angels stationed there. There is no need to dispatch more from the Sacred Domain.”
The Angel Queen raised a hand to cut her off, her gaze shifting toward the eastern horizon.
“Four-Winged Angels are the safer choice. Besides, we are also on the verge of breaking free from the Ancient Council’s control and establishing an order of our own. There is no need to create unnecessary complications at a ti like this.”
Her voice was calm, yet it carried unquestionable authority.
The Six-Winged Angel pressed her lips together, but in the end she suppressed the irritation in her heart.
She knew the Queen’s temperant. Once she had made a decision, it would not be changed lightly.
Very soon, two streams of light flew out of the crystal palace. Their wings tore through space as they sped toward the Ninth Continent.
anwhile, in the depths of the Magic Serpent Fortress, the old hydra’s molting had entered its final stage.
Its newly born scales glimred with a dark sheen beneath the crimson light of the runes, and its nine heads lifted slightly, as though they could already scent the “prey” arriving from afar.
Half a month passed, and outside the Silver Oakleaf Royal Capital it beca a bloody war of attrition.
The mass of hydras surged like a black tide, slamming again and again into the Royal Capital’s defensive barrier. Their dark green venom ate countless holes into the city walls.
The defenders within the city fought to the very end. Even the attendants of noble houses took up weapons. Corpses piled into small hills beneath the walls, and the stench of blood mixed with the Miasma until even the sky had turned into a dull sheet of gray.
Kroll Kingdom’s Gold Legion finally advanced to the edge of the Royal Territory. The knights rode magnificent warhorses, their long spears like a forest, striking only at hydras that had fallen behind or beco isolated.
Their gilded armor glead coldly beneath the sunlight, and wherever their horses passed, serpent corpses lay scattered across the ground.
Yet their advance remained slow, as though they were asuring the land step by step. They turned a blind eye to the Royal Capital’s peril, as if they were rely cleaning up “spoils of war.”
Deep within the Silver Oakleaf royal family’s Secret Realm, the atmosphere was so strange it was suffocating.
At the center of a circular array floated a Divine Artifact as black as night, its surface carved with twisted patterns and exuding an ominous aura.
An old man led dozens of royal family mbers in kneeling within the array. Not a trace of color remained in any of their faces, and their eyes were hollow.
They chanically repeated the act of prostration. Each ti they bowed, a thread of pale green light was forcibly drawn from within their bodies and drifted toward the Divine Artifact suspended above them.
As that green light continued to pour into it, those kneeling visibly aged before the naked eye. Their hair turned snow-white, their skin wrinkled like tree bark, and their once-healthy bodies bent into shriveled hunks.
So collapsed in the middle of their prostrations and never rose again.
At once, other royal family mbers outside the array stepped forward, dragging the corpses away without expression before taking their places and continuing the endless ritual.
No one knew how much ti had passed. When the last wisp of green light was absorbed by the Divine Artifact, the black object suddenly burst out with blinding red light. The patterns across its surface began to flow as if they had co alive, and a vast yet chilling power spread outward.
The old man raised a trembling hand, signaling for everyone to stop.
The surviving mbers of the royal family collapsed onto the ground, each one withered to the point of resembling a dried husk, without even the strength to lift a finger.
Just then, footsteps sounded from outside the array, and Silver Oakleaf’s Ancestor walked in.
He looked at the miserable scene within the array, then at the floating Divine Artifact. Pain flashed across his face, followed by struggle, and in the end only a numb, tangled expression remained.
“So in the end... it has still co to this.”
He murmured softly and reached out to hold the Divine Artifact that was radiating red light.
It was icy cold in his hands, as though he were holding a block of frozen blood.
He did not turn back to look at the surviving royal family mbers, nor did he pay any attention to the corpses on the ground. He rely clutched the Divine Artifact tightly, turned, and strode away.
Outside the Secret Realm, the Royal Capital’s defensive barrier let out another piercing hum, as though it might shatter at any mont.
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