Chapter Six: Wangyuan

The Kingdom of Azure and the United Kingdom aren’t too far apart on the world map; the closest straight-line distance is just over a thousand kilometers.

After about a month of long travel, the envoy group finally crossed the lengthy national borders starting from the City of Courage and arrived at the southern edge of the United Kingdom.

Wangyuan City.

This is the largest military and population stronghold in the southern region of humanity’s United Kingdom. Travel another five thousand miles southward, and you’ll see the vast, bottomless Abyss, hence the name.

Of course, this name also has the meaning of watching over and guarding against invasions from the southern nations and non-human races, which in some sense is quite similar to the Wanku Fortress in the west.

Since the royal decree had been issued ahead of time, the envoy group naturally faced no obstacles in Wangyuan City and received a warm welcome.

Guarding Wangyuan City is another prestigious Duke of the United Kingdom, Duke Bertlem Greyce, a general known for his strategic prowess and unusual military tactics. He decided to ally himself with Liliya only after her triumph in the western region and is said to be friends with Layton.

Though they only met briefly upon entering the city, Vilyric felt he was quite different from Layton.

First and foremost, Duke Bertlem does not excel in brute force; he is known for his literary military style and creative strategies.

The Beast Kingdom to the west has vast territory but is often harsh and cold, and the beastmen are fierce warriors, leading the kingdom to primarily adopt a defensive approach, with Layton, who is more cautious in character and tactics, in charge of overall strategy.

The situation in the south is quite the opposite.

Although Wangyuan City isn’t very far from the endless Abyss, the entire land to the south still totals half the size of the United Kingdom.

This region’s soil and resources are incredibly fertile, quite suitable for human habitation, and are mostly divided among various small nations or urban powers.

This area is a cultural and ethnic melting pot, utterly chaotic and disorderly. Warfare frequently erupts, and the distribution of power and maps can change drastically every few decades.

It’s referred to as the “Wasteland of the Extreme South” by the people of the kingdom.

Thus, as the dominant human force in the southwestern part of the world, the United Kingdom will not overlook this tempting piece of territory.

While they rarely send large armies to directly attack a specific nation here, if chaos erupts internally, or factions seek assistance from this great nation in exchange for land or becoming a vassal…

It goes without saying how the kingdom would respond.

Currently, many territories extending from Wangyuan City, along with a few vassal nations, have formed in this manner over the past few centuries.

Therefore, the younger, more ambitious, and aggressive Duke Bertlem is the most suitable candidate to be the general here.

However, this has no relevance to Vilyric.

After all, they’re only stopping for a night in Wangyuan City to rest briefly before leaving the borders in the morning, crossing through the Wasteland of the Extreme South, to head towards the territory of the Kingdom of Azure.

That night, in the envoy’s guest house arranged in Wangyuan City, Vilyric and her pet stayed in their room, the two of them sitting cross-legged on the bed, as they stood before the stone statue of the God of Sky, Minerva, which she had received from Liliya at departure.

Previously, while on the carriage, it had been hard to find the right moment to properly study this item, but now it should be more convenient.

Of course, the main reason was that the Priestess had discovered during their journey southward that the subtle Soul Power contained within the statue was gradually becoming more active.

Now that they had arrived in Wangyuan City, it had surpassed a rather special peak, and Vilyric sensed that this item seemed to have undergone some sort of change.

“Xiao Guang, are you ready?”

“Don’t worry, Master! No matter what random things pop out, as long as I detect any intent to attack, I’ll take care of it immediately!”

The Little Dragon Daughter wagged her tail and promised enthusiastically.

Vilyric nodded in satisfaction.

After all, this thing might involve the God of Sky, a deity that still exists today, and it was Vilyric’s first time handling an item related to a being like that, so she had to be thoroughly prepared.

Lifting the 【Eternal Staff: Heart of the World】 that she had beside her, Vilyric had changed back into the 【Feather Garb: Glarya】, as she felt her previous clothes were too troublesome and likely to get dirty.

So, dressed in a white robe and on high alert, the Priestess first released a complex barrier that provided defense, concealed aura, and enhancement effects before gently touching the top of the palm-sized statue, infusing it with some sp.

Although she wasn’t sure about the item’s condition, since it involved Soul Power, trying it out couldn’t hurt.

Buzz!

“Master, it’s lighting up!”

Without Xiao Guang having to remind her, Vilyric also saw the statue emitting a gentle azure light, even transforming the entire stone statue to shimmer like exquisite jade.

She could feel that the statue seemed to come to life, actively absorbing Vilyric’s sp with a not-too-powerful force, especially brightening the area around the contact point.

“Interesting…”

To be honest, despite its unclear intentions, the speed at which it absorbed sp was quite slow for Vilyric, and she didn’t even need to use skills to compensate; her auto-recovery was more than enough.

Thus, the Priestess did not immediately stop or retaliate.

She wanted to see what this thing really was.

Earlier on the way, Vilyric had already tried a simple investigation. The statue wasn’t an equipment item in the traditional sense, and the feedback from 【Information Detection】 was quite limited, knowing only that it was meant to store some kind of Soul Power.

While not as mysterious as the Key of March, it certainly hid some significant secret.

After all, to directly absorb sp from Vilyric, even with her allowing it without any resistance, was quite impressive.

The infusion of Soul Power lasted almost fifteen minutes, with the brilliance of the statue becoming more dazzling, transforming its overall material and feel into a transparent azure jade.

Just as the light reached its peak, a faint but profoundly high-level Soul Power radiated outward like ripples, blocked by the barrier Vilyric had set up in advance.

Then, the azure light gradually faded, and the statue returned to its original gray-black appearance as if nothing had happened.

“??”

Just as the two girls were left puzzled, glancing at each other, a somewhat ethereal yet mysterious voice, warm like it came from an infinite expanse, suddenly echoed in Vilyric’s mind.

“I never expected to absorb such vast and pure divine soul power after a millennium. Child of the descendants, why have you awakened me?”

“Ah?”

Vilyric froze for a moment before realizing that this seemed to be a voice coming from the statue, as during this process, that thing emitted a slight azure light again, though not as conspicuous as before.

She cast a glance at her Little Dragon Daughter, who still appeared utterly bewildered and seemed to notice nothing at all.

Was it because she touched this thing that she could hear it?

Thinking this, the Priestess tried to withdraw her hand from the statue.

Sure enough, the voice instantly disappeared from her mind.

   

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