“I AM THE MONARCH OF MYRIAD ROCKS. MY WRATH SHAKES THE EARTH, AND THE ROCK SPIRITS TREMBLE — FISSURE ROCK COLLAPSE!”
Dense Soil Magic power swirled around the silver-haired man.
As he chanted the incantation, the 100-meter-tall boulder before him trembled and began to crack, as if subjected to some immense pressure.
The man made a phantom grasping motion, and the rock actually shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Shards crumbled away as the mass collapsed inward, as though it were being crushed from all directions.
*Boom!*
The massive rock suddenly exploded, leaving only a perfectly spherical stone the size of a fist floating quietly in front of the man.
“Congratulations, Master, on creating yet another great Earth spell!”
A red-haired girl standing behind the man clapped her hands.
Her short, maple-leaf-red hair, which barely reached her ears, swayed excitedly, mirroring her joyful mood.
However, the man did not seem particularly pleased.
He merely rubbed the dust between his thumb and forefinger, lost in thought.
“No matter how powerful a spell is, it is merely a tool to concentrate and release Magic Power more conveniently, presenting an effect in a precise manner.”
Yellow Magic Power shifted forms within the man’s palm, turning into a square, then a cone, and finally a perfect circle.
“Ultimately, there is no such thing as a strong or weak spell. They are just formulas. What truly determines strength is the user.”
The man spoke to the short-haired girl beside him.
“You must understand, Hongye, that the only thing that decides strength is the level of one’s Magic Power, like this…”
The man reached out.
Without chanting any incantation, he simply released his Magic Power.
The surrounding shattered debris gathered toward the floating spherical stone.
Under his control, the intense pressure continuously flattened and compressed the gathered rocks until a tiny black dot slowly formed at the center.
Hongye watched blankly as the man’s staggering Magic Power crushed the stones, until she faintly felt her own body being pulled toward the black dot.
“Uh?!”
*Whoosh—*
Only then did the man abruptly disperse his Magic Power.
He lightly brushed the dust from his hair and stood with his hands behind his back.
“Loki, how goes the task I assigned to you and Wiggins?”
The man spoke to the empty air, sensing Loki’s presence nearby as his amber eyes turned toward a certain direction.
“I didn’t want to disturb you while you were training, Master.”
A crisp laugh rang out as a black-haired girl appeared.
She landed gently on the ground and waved her hand to summon a mirror, pulling a wretched figure out from within it.
It was Wiggins, the Staff Officer of the Black Fang Legion.
He had been expelled and hunted by the legion for issuing unauthorized, erroneous orders.
By the time Loki found him, he had nearly been captured.
“I am terribly sorry, Lord Caesar! It seems the operation did not go as we expected…”
Wiggins sprawled on the ground, panting as he spoke.
“Did it fail?”
Caesar’s tone from above was flat.
He sounded as if he didn’t care, but for Wiggins, he would have preferred the man show some emotion.
Caesar had a remarkably steady personality.
The more dissatisfied he was with a situation, the calmer he became — like a resilient rock, impenetrable by fire or water and unmoved by the wind.
“I allow my subordinates to make mistakes. Even I sometimes find myself indecisive or hesitant, causing me to miss certain opportunities,” Caesar said. “Let me hear your reasoning.”
“Originally, according to the plan, we were to use the conflict between Lin City and the Black Fang Legion as a springboard to escalate things to the Demon Race and the Balta Kingdom. That would have given us a reason to conquer the Human Race.”
Since the Holy War ended 300 years ago, the forces of the Demon Race had suffered a devastating blow.
A whole generation of elite demon powerhouses had been buried at the hands of the Hero’s party, allowing those humans — who should have been slaves — to turn the tables and become a force even stronger than the Demon Race.
One had to remember that the history of the Demon Race could be traced back nearly 10,000 years, while humans had been enslaved for over 3,000 years since their discovery.
It wasn’t until the God named Odin descended upon this world that His blessings and knowledge allowed the Human Race to escape their weakness and ignorance.
By the time towering cathedrals were built, the internal factions of the Demon Race were still slaughtering each other to claim the title of the strongest.
After untold ages, the Demon King who ended all demon infighting appeared.
He was supposed to be the strongest and wisest of the Demon Race.
Even while most humans were still enslaved, he looked toward the eastern part of the continent, where the rising Holy Hero Church already had the strength to challenge them.
He knew that an external enemy was the best way to unite internal forces.
Thus, the war between humans and demons lasted for 100 years.
The long period of conflict caused human culture to stagnate, while the Demon Race grew stronger through the baptism of war.
The result of a fledgling civilization clashing with a race long accustomed to bitter combat was predictable.
Consequently, the humans needed a hero — someone who stood above all races while still being able to carry out the will of the God Odin with a compassionate heart.
The Hero was born for this purpose.
The era of peace allowed human civilization to develop rapidly, and this time, it was the Demon Race’s turn to stagnate.
Their blood was filled with factors of conflict and battle.
Their ancestors had stood out in a wild era dominated by giant beasts, and today, they could still only apply that ability to war.
Asking them to farm and weave like humans was asking the impossible.
Having existed since the era of the previous Demon God Emperor, Caesar naturally saw this.
It was difficult for the Demon Race to develop a civilization like that of the humans.
They could not live in a world filled with order.
Once the strength of the humans completely surpassed that of the Demon Race, it would be the demons who became the enslaved ones.
Therefore, Caesar wanted to use a justified war to let the Demon Race once again absorb the fruits of human civilization through plunder and enslavement.
Now, 300 years later, there was no news of the Hero.
Neither Odin nor the Holy Hero Church would punish a nation that had been invaded.
Regardless of the war’s outcome, even if it were stopped halfway, the only beneficiary would be the Demon Race.
In war, the Demon Race was always the victor.
And now, an impending war had been strangled in its crib.
Wiggins recounted the details of the Three Flag Challenge between Lin City and the Black Fang Legion to Caesar.
Caesar had no interest in hearing about a house-play style battle between those of the Mortal Rank.
However, the black-haired youth named Qiaolin mentioned by Wiggins caught his interest.
“Are you certain he is a human?”
Caesar asked calmly.
“No matter how blind I am, I couldn’t possibly fail to distinguish a human from a demon. He can use Holy Magic!”
Only humans could use the Holy Magic granted by Odin’s blessing.
Caesar glanced at Loki with an inquiring look.
“It is absolutely true, Lord Caesar. He used the ‘Holy Word of the Earth,’ an ultimate Healing Magic that combines Holy Magic and Soil Magic,” Loki said with a smile.
“I have heard of that spell. It is said to be able to cleanse all negative status effects from the recipient’s body,” Hongye added from the side.
“Holy Word of the Earth… Could it be that Celestial Saintess?”
As one who possessed absolute mastery over the earth element, Caesar was familiar with this magic and had even seen someone use it with his own eyes.
The Celestial Saintess, Tor, was the most outstanding Healing Mage from 300 years ago, a King Rank.
“Impossible. She died long ago.”
The Celestial Saintess possessed All-Attribute Magical Talent.
Using both Holy Magic and soil-attribute magic naturally posed no problem for her.
After all, Caesar had never seen a second all-element Mage as powerful as her.
‘Could it be…’
A terrifying thought bloomed in Caesar’s mind.
“Loki, that man named Qiaolin probably needs your investigation.”
“I understand, Master. I have already received the Demon King’s permission to become his personal guardian.”
Upon hearing this, a trace of a smile appeared in Caesar’s normally calm eyes.
“You always manage to surprise me, Loki. As for you…”
Caesar glanced at Wiggins, his tone suddenly turning ice-cold.
“I am giving you a mission. Infiltrate the Holy Hero Church and await further orders.”
“Wh-What? Another infiltration?”
“Do you have an objection?”
“No, no! I don’t! I’ll get to it immediately!”
Since the plan had fallen through, Wiggins had nothing to defend himself with.
At least Caesar hadn’t truly punished him yet, so he could only try to make up for his failure.
However, infiltrating the Holy Hero Church was going to be so difficult!