Chapter 1011: Changes
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Li did not say much to Archbishop Martin and the others. Instead, he brought them to the top floor of the Central Tower. The large control crystal on the control panel was emitting a bright light. Lin Li went straight to the control panel, and communicated with the control crystal through Mind Control. According to the experience he had received long ago, he gave the Sky Castle the command to activate.
With the command, the entire Sky Castle suddenly vibrated slightly, and the wall around that floor also became transparent. It looked as if it had completely disappeared, exposing the view outside. It made the people on that floor feel as if they were outside the tower. In fact, the continuously emerging Nether Storms could be seen clearly too.
At the same time, they could also see that buildings and streets below the Sky Castle’s tower were lighting up layer by layer, forming a huge and complex array. The 36 Magic Towers seemed to have also become shining lamp posts that were emitting dazzling rays of light, appearing as if small suns had gathered at the top of the tower.
“Okay, we’re going back,” Lin Li said to everyone. A bright ray of light suddenly erupted from the control crystal on the control panel. At the same time, the light on top of the 36 Magic Towers outside darted into the sky above the Sky Castle, forming a huge vortex of light in the void above it.
When the vortex of light expanded to its maximum, the Sky Castle slowly rose under Lin Li’s manipulation. First, the vortex reached the canopy in the outer layer, then the highest building, the Central Tower, and the 36 Magic Towers that entered the vortex of light.
As the Sky Castle entered the light vortex, the light vortex gradually shrunk into a Solar Sphere before gradually turning dimmer and disappearing in the void. Peace was finally restored.
At the same time that the Sky Castle entered the light vortex, lightning suddenly appeared in the clear skies above the wilderness of the Ledin Kingdom in Anril. There seemed to be a large gash in the blue sky that appeared because of a sudden and massive wave of energy. Overwhelmed with fear, people below lost the power to run, and had no choice but to look on in petrification, waiting for the arrival of disaster.
Soon, a mountain peak that seemed to have been overturned slowly moved out of the gash together with a strong aura of destruction. Even though everything was happening in the sky high above, the strong sense of oppression made the people below feel like they were on the verge of a breakdown. Everyone was forced to lie on the ground as they constantly prayed to all the gods they knew in their hearts.
Finally, the Sky Castle detached itself from the opening in the sky, after which the latter gradually closed up. Floating quietly in the sky, the massive Sky Castle cast a large shadow on the wilderness, but it did not fall straight down, unlike what everyone had been worried about.
The herdsmen and people from a caravan who were initially lying on the ground dared not look up at all, but after waiting for a long time, they saw the giant shadow moving slowly on the ground. They then mustered the courage and looked up at the sky, only to see that the upside-down peak was floating slowly in a certain direction.
“Oh my God, what is that thing? What power can make a mountain peak fly into the sky!?” The people below were extremely curious about the floating upside-down mountain peak while feeling thankful for having escaped.
“Oh dear, that’s the direction of the Holy Mountain. Could it be that the peak is going to the Holy Mountain!?” After all, the people in the caravan were more knowledgeable, and immediately saw that the direction that the mountain peak was drifting in was exactly the direction where the Holy Mountain of Light was located.
Almost everyone in the Ledin Kingdom was a devotee of the Brilliance Shrine. Seeing that the mountain peak was floating towards the Holy Mountain, a terrifying idea popped up in their minds. However, although the mountain peak looked as if it was drifting slowly, it was in fact extremely fast, and it was too late for them to catch up with it.
At this moment, Lin Li who had successfully driven the Sky Castle to Anril, did not seem happy at all. Instead, he frowned and seemed extremely worried.
“Master Felic, we’ve already returned safely. What are you still worried about?” Archbishop Martin noticed that Lin Li looked rather worried, and couldn’t help but be confused. In his opinion, it was something worth rejoicing over. Even if Lin Li did not express uncontrollable joy, he should not seem so worried.
Lin Li was snapped out of his thoughts, and he glanced at Archbishop Martin. Still looking as worried as ever, he said, “If I sensed it correctly, there seems to have been extraordinary changes in Anril since we left.”
After all, Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse whose understanding of the world was far above that of those who were in the Legendary-realm. Hence, as soon as they returned from Anril, he immediately sensed the changes in the world. The structure of the world seemed to have become more unstable, while the density of the magical elements seemed to have increased hundreds of times.
“What? We seem to have only spent a month or so exploring the Sky Castle. How can there be so many changes?” Although Donald already knew that Lin Li was a true Sanctuary powerhouse, he still did not quite believe what Lin Li said.
Lin Li did not answer, and instead gave another command to the control crystal. He then closed up the canopy outside the Sky Castle. As the canopy closed, the Sky Castle was almost completely exposed to the environment of Anril, and a massive amount of magical elements surged in, almost forming a magic tide.
Although Donald was unable to sense the changes in the World Laws, he was still very sensitive to the magical elements as a Legendary-mage who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Hence, he immediately sensed that the magical elements in his surroundings had clearly grown tremendously compared to when he’d entered the Sky Castle.
“Since when have the magical elements in Anril become so intense? However, isn’t that a good thing? Master Felic, what are you worried about?” Although Donald could sense the changes in the magical elements, he could not understand what Lin Li was worried about. After all, the increase in the density of magical elements was indeed a good thing for mages.
Legend had it that there had been four large-scale magic tides in the history of Anril. Whenever each magic tide appeared, it would allow a large number of mages who were stuck in a bottleneck to break through, allowing human magic civilization to develop by leaps and bounds.
The benefits of breaking through bottlenecks were not just an increase in strength. For example, if a level-19 Archmage could never enter the Legendary-realm, his lifespan might be about 100 years, but once he suddenly broke through a bottleneck and stepped into the Legendary-realm, he would immediately get another 100 years of life. Hence, to most mages, the appearance of a magic tide was definitely a wonderful opportunity that appeared once in a century.
Only those who really stood at the top of Anril, such as the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council and Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine, would know that the magic tides brought about more than just opportunities to mankind. Whenever a magic tide appeared, it would be accompanied by a great disaster known as a Black Current. Even Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine was injured by the Primordial Viper in one, which was evidence of how terrifying the Black Current was.
That was also what Lin Li was worried about. Back in the Blackstone Mountains, Tutankhamun had once mentioned the Black Current and the magic tides. In fact, the Black Current was not a true disaster. The real disaster for the entire Anril was the magic tides caused by the continuous expansion of the spatial rift. The expansion of the spatial rift would not only lead to the invasion of a large number of prehistoric magical beasts, it might also lead to the collapse of the structure of the World Laws. By then, Anril might really crumble.
The mission that Geresco had given Lin Li was to seal the spatial rifts caused by the collapse of the Tree of Eternity after he became strong enough. Hence, Lin Li had always been particularly concerned about the spatial rifts. Even though he did not like being a hero who saved the world, he could not sit still and watch Anril get destroyed for the sake of his own survival.
Now, the changes that appeared in Anril immediately made Lin Li think of the issue of the spatial rifts. The sudden increase in intensity of the magical elements seemed to be similar to the description of the magic tides in the legends. Did that mean that the disaster that Geresco mentioned had arrived in advance?
Lin Li controlled the Sky Castle and flew straight towards the Holy Mountain of the Brilliance Shrine, not specifically because he wanted to send Archbishop Martin and the others back, but more importantly because he wanted to learn more about everything that happened in Anril recently from Pope Rosario. After all, only someone like Pope Rosario would be able to know more profound things.
Although the Sky Castle was massive, they could still fly through it quickly. It only took them less than half an hour of flying above the boundless wilderness of the northwestern border of the Ledin Kingdom to reach the vicinity of the Holy Mountain.
The arrival of the Sky Castle naturally made the people of the Brilliance Shrine and the Ledin Kingdom nervous. No one would be able to stay calm in the face of such a massive object. Soon, the Giant Vulture Knights of the Ledin Kingdom and the Pegasus Knights of the Brilliance Shrine took flight from their respective quarters, and cautiously approached the Sky Castle.
“Master Felic, I’ll just go out and explain to them, so don’t be anxious yet. Please don’t be impatient.” Seeing this, Archbishop Martin immediately tensed up. However, it was because he was worried that Lin Li might annihilate the two major knight orders out of his impatience. After visiting the Sky Castle, he was very confident that the Sky Castle definitely possessed such power.
“Archbishop Martin, don’t be nervous. Since I’m here as a guest, I don’t want to be a malicious one. Please go and inform them,” Lin Li said nonchalantly to the archbishop. At the same time, he was also observing the two knight orders that were flying close to the Sky Castle.
The Giant Vulture Knights of the Ledin Kingdom rode giant vultures that had a wingspan of nearly 20 meters, and their large bodies could support a person riding on their backs. The knights were all wearing light armor, and they seemed extremely small on the backs of the vultures. They were each carrying a special crossbow, which was their main method of attack. Clearly, the Giant Vulture Knights did not have strong combat power, and only answered for vanguard during battles. Usually, they were in charge of keeping order in the city.
On the other hand, the Pegasus Knights of the Brilliance Shrine were riding pegasuses with white wings that were similar to those of unicorns. In fact, they were mutant pegasuses that had been passed down from the dark ages, and had nothing to do with unicorns. They purely had feathered wings. Besides, most of their wings were black or mixed in color. The Brilliance Shrine had merely chosen the white ones.
The pegasuses looked rather valiant, but in fact, they had almost no combat power. The knights on their backs were the ones who were mainly responsible for the battle. Hence, the Pegasus Knights of the Brilliance Shrine almost had no achievements that they were proud of. Their roles were similar to those of the Giant Vulture Knights of the Brilliance Shrine.
After looking at the Giant Vulture Knights and the Pegasus Knights, Lin Li could also imagine why the Gryphon Riders of the Felan Kingdom could have such a high reputation. The giant vultures and pegasuses only gave the knights the ability to fly, while the gryphons were real magical beasts that were physically strong, powerful, and had high talent in magic. The Giant Vulture Knights and Pegasus Knights would probably be defeated terribly by the Gryphon Riders of the Felan Kingdom.
While Lin Li was observing the Giant Vulture Knights and Pegasus Knights, Archbishop Martin had already arrived outside the Sky Castle, and declared his identity as the archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine. After a conversation, Archbishop Martin waved his hand domineeringly, and two groups of knights finally flew away from the Sky Castle.
However, after Archbishop Martin came back, the crowd including Lin Li discovered that there was a drastic change in his expression. He no longer seemed as happy about returning as he used to be. Instead, he frowned.
“Archbishop Martin, how are you… Could it be that something had happened?” Donald asked in puzzlement.