Melor hurried back to Mornet after leaving the Siver town. As a crucial mastermind of Two Hands, Melor placed immense importance on the influence of the Imperial Consort Selection event. After the ambush by the Red Orcs, he secretly sensed that something was off. He had never considered Jacor a fool, on the contrary, he deeply respected him.

  The enemy’s ability to forge Jacor’s seal proved that they had already infiltrated deep into the power structure of The Triagle. Hesmor was no longer an internal game. The Legion, the Alliance, and perhaps even some mysterious force lurking behind this incident were gradually extending their hands into this young empire.

  Melor frowned darkly. Even he himself did not know the location of Jacor’s secret headquarters. Whatever could happen to Jacor could just as easily happen to him.

  “Think, Melor. Think. Someone within The Triagle knows too many secrets and would benefit the most from Jacor’s death.”

  A beautiful silhouette slowly took shape in his thoughts: an intelligent, noble, and elegant woman sitting upright on a sofa, crossing her slender legs, her lips curved into a bewitching smile.

  “Could it be her?”

  Melor suddenly recalled their first encounter, when Hesmor launched an assault on Golden. Este was one of the three key representatives of the merchant class who commanded Fortress Medit. She had struck a deal with Melor, an exceptionally necessary bargain, one that laid the foundation for the delicate balance of power between The Triagle and Two Hands.

  To Melor, one-third of the Seawall ore mines meant nothing compared to the territory seized at Golden. At first, he believed this had been Jacor’s maneuver, an attempt to isolate Aster from the nobility. But it seemed that was not the case. Jacor himself appeared to have been outplayed by her.

  “Hopefully, all of this is nothing more than speculation.”

  …

  The Palace of Fecilitas was now steeped in a festive atmosphere. Lanterns and decorations adorned every street in Mornet to celebrate the first day of competition in the consort selection event. People from all across Hesmor poured in; merchant ships packed the harbor; traders and fame-seeking travelers arrived in droves.

  The appearance of Babi made the Alliance even more cautious. They dispatched forces to guard Mornet until the selection event concluded. Warships of Greaton patrolled densely along the outer seas of Eldloss. The elite forces of the “Flying Tower” lay in ambush around the Palace of Fecilitas. And somewhere in a hidden place, a young man with indifferent eyes surveyed everything from above.

  His face carried a sinister air. A green blade of grass hung from the corner of his mouth. His jet-black coat was lined with small pockets filled with concealed weapons. His body was slightly lean, yet his muscles were taut, brimming with explosive power. On his shoulder glimmered the golden emblem of the “Flying Tower,” the most prestigious insignia reserved for the Alliance’s strongest elites.

  The preliminary matches were held at Great–Mornet Academy. The contestants would fight in a small grassy arena encircled by a high-level protective formation. Meanwhile, the teaching staff continuously observed and controlled the situation to prevent unnecessary casualties. The stands were packed with spectators. The major factions were arranged in special seats near Aster’s observation area. Melor and Jacor sat respectively to the left and right of the young king. The first match was between the Stronghold family and the Spellspeaker family.

  Representing Stronghold was a dark-skinned, robust young woman. Von Stronghold was a young earth-element mage. She wore the traditional heavy armor of Stronghold, with a spiked war mace strapped to her back. She looked nothing like a mage at first glance; the solid blocks of muscle across her body showed that she preferred physical combat over spellcasting. Von winked at Aster, making his scalp go numb. Although Von was undeniably attractive, her burly physique made the young king feel as if his eyes were being stabbed blind. This was the defining standard of Stronghold women and also the reason why men there were notoriously prone to infidelity.

  Her opponent was Rena Spellspeaker, Melin’s granddaughter and the second-ranked prodigy of Spellspeaker, surpassed only by her elder sister, Hera. Rena wore a tight, thin silk robe that accentuated her curves. In her hand was a staff topped with a magic gem emitting an eerie blue glow. Her face brimmed with confidence as she bounced lightly in place, waving to her grandfather seated in the distance.

  “So adorable.” Melin stroked his beard with pride.

  Melin favored Rena over Hera and devoted most of his time to teaching her magic. The path of a mage demanded an immense reservoir of knowledge. Knowledge was the core that strengthened the power of “Will” and the guiding light within the vast expanse of “The First Place.” A genius mage would progress far more rapidly if guided by a mentor.

  “I’m sorry, Rena, for dragging you into this political game. But one day you’ll understand your grandfather’s hardship. For a mage to grow, talent alone is not enough. An enormous amount of resources is also required.”

  The trumpet sounded, signaling both contestants to take their positions. Cheers erupted across the arena. The beauty of the two competitors sent the male spectators into a frenzy; among them were countless men jealous of Aster’s fortune.

  “What a lucky king.”

  The people of Hesmor had long held little respect for Aster. To them, Rumi was the true king, far more worthy of the throne. Rumi’s death was the greatest barrier standing between Aster and the people’s hearts. Jacor wanted to turn Aster into nothing more than a puppet king and to some extent, he had indeed succeeded.

  “The match begins!” the referee shouted.

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  Von seized the moment, hurling her spiked mace fiercely toward Rena. Without even watching the result, she immediately activated the basic spell of her first core, vanishing beneath the ground.

  “It’s Burrowing Technique.”

  Rena used her “Will” to intercept the spiked mace midair. She frowned, staring intently at the massive pit before her, as the staff in her hand flared with light. Water surged out from the magic gem on the staff like a raging flood, gradually pouring into the deep hole. Yet the pit seemed like a bottomless abyss, no matter how much water was poured in, it could not be filled. Rena’s purpose had never been to drown Von underground. When the water reached a certain level, she clenched her fist and activated her intermediate spell.

  “Intermediate Magic: Water Burst.”

  The ground exploded and bulged upward like an overinflated ball. Von, who had been concealed beneath the earth, was forced out and exposed before Rena’s cold smile. Countless water orbs now floated around Rena. With a snap of her fingers, the orbs seemed to receive an order and surged forward in unison, crashing violently toward Von.

  Von’s expression remained calm. The water orbs striking her body were like harmless scratches. As a member of Stronghold, even as a mage, her innate physique was exceptionally powerful. The spiked mace lying beside Rena began to tremble. Seizing the moment when Rena was off guard, it shot toward her left waist, carving out deep, bleeding wounds.

  “What?!”

  Wounded, Rena quickly retreated into a defensive stance. Both of them were Archmage-tier, there was no way Von’s “Will” could be powerful enough to control an object from such a distance.

  “Didn’t expect that, did you?”

  Von laughed loudly and boldly. The spiked mace was merely an outer shell, inside it was packed with earth and stone. What Von used was not “Will” but the intermediate spell “Earth Control.” This spell allowed her to manipulate earth elements within a certain range. From the very beginning, throwing the spiked mace at Rena had been meant to make her lower her guard.

  “Such underhanded tricks!” Melin glared furiously at Stronghold’s team leader.

  “All warfare is deception! Consider this a lesson for the girl,” the old man laughed heartily. Von was not a particularly powerful mage; of course she needed to rely on a bit of cunning to seize the initiative against Spellspeaker.

  The shattered fragments of earth and stone scattered across the ground now became convenient weapons for Von. With her magic, she launched relentless attacks at the wounded Rena. On the opposite side, all Rena could do was staunch the bleeding and wrap her body in a thin yet resilient and elastic water veil, temporarily protecting herself.

  “Give up. The longer you drag this out, the worse your wounds will become. This spiked mace is coated with an extremely potent toxin.”

  Von sneered coldly, brimming with confidence in her victory. That was why she kept pressing the attack even though her mana reserves were far lower than her opponent’s. By the time Von’s mana was exhausted, Rena’s body would already be grievously damaged by the ravages of poison. As for Rena’s life, there was no need to worry, Divilight was seated right beside the arena.

  The pain from her wounds caused the mana in Rena’s body to surge chaotically. She did feel a hint of regret for underestimating her opponent. But surrender was not an option. Spellspeaker was a lineage of natural-born mages, possessing mana reserves far exceeding those of ordinary people. The disparity in mana meant that the priority of spell control leaned heavily in Rena’s favor. The stones Von was manipulating with “Earth Control” suddenly froze in midair. This left Von utterly perplexed. She tried to channel more mana into the stones to reclaim control, but it was futile.

  “What’s going on?!”

  “It’s quite simple. These stones are now under my control,” Rena said with a faint smile.

  When the stones struck Rena’s water barrier, they had become soaked through. With mana reserves vastly superior to Von’s, Rena held a higher control priority.

  “That’s impossible! Didn’t you already use ‘Water Burst’? ‘Water Control’ is also an intermediate spell, how could you engrave two different spells into the same core?!”

  “‘Water Control’ isn’t one of my core-engraved spells. I can use it through incantation. Do you really think I was just standing there defending and doing nothing all this time?”

  To cast spells, mages had to recite incantations that were long and complex, a process that consumed time and was highly restrictive in combat. That was why most mages relied primarily on “core-engraved spells”—spells permanently imprinted into the magic cores formed within their consciousness. Although the number and quality of such spells were fixed by a mage’s rank, they could be deployed with extreme speed and flexibility, without incantation.

  However, this limitation did not fully apply to Spellspeaker. In addition to their abundant mana reserves, they possessed an innate talent for extremely fast incantation. As a result, the variety of spells they could employ in battle was vast and difficult to predict.

  “Hmph! Even so, the time is already enough. The destructive power of intermediate spells can’t pierce my defense.”

  Von laughed arrogantly. She flexed her body, revealing cords of taut muscle as if to demonstrate her words. Her bronze-toned muscles gleamed with health, thick veins writhing like small snakes. She tossed the spiked mace aside and pounded her chest repeatedly, signaling Rena to attack.

  “It’s true that intermediate spells can hardly injure you. However…”

  “Can you still breathe?”

  Rena clenched her fist. The water around the arena rapidly surged toward Von, enveloping her and forming a gigantic sphere of water. Von struggled violently to break free, but wherever she moved, the water sphere clung to her like glue, following her every motion.

  “Ghk… ghk…”

  Von’s breathing slowed. Water flooded into her airway, her eyes rolling white. Time dragged on. Von trembled, then gradually fell still.

  The outcome had been decided.

  Rena withdrew her spell, and Von’s body crashed heavily onto the ground. Victory in the first match belonged to Spellspeaker. As usual, Rena turned back toward her grandfather to celebrate. The moment she turned around, her vision darkened, the toxin from Von took effect at once, and she collapsed unconscious.

  “Diva! Please heal them!” Melin shouted toward the Emperor-tier priestess of Divilight, his eyes filled with anxiety as he looked at Rena. Countless times during the battle he had wanted to shout “Stop!” but Rena’s resolute gaze had made him hesitate.

  “Calm down, Melin. It’s just a minor issue. I don’t even need to act personally.”

  Diva sat there quietly with her eyes closed. She wore a plain white robe, appearing at a glance no different from an ordinary old woman. But one must not be deceived by appearances, she was one of the two Guardians of the “Temple of Light,” a mighty Emperor on par with Melin himself.

  Diva nodded to Min, the contestant representing Divilight. The girl would step in to treat those who had collapsed on the arena floor. Min was a small, adorable girl with pure eyes filled with an innate nobility. Like all priests of Divilight, she carried a book inscribed with the precepts of the God of Light. She placed her small hand upon the book and knelt in prayer. Light poured forth from her body like a blessing, washing over both Rena and Von.

  The wounds on their bodies gradually healed. Before long, both of them awakened, healthy and vigorous, as if the fierce battle had never taken place.

  “So powerful!”

  “Of course. Min is a genius of our order. Even if she is not the Saintess, the gap is not large.”

  Diva suddenly fell silent, her expression darkening as if she were contemplating something. Her gaze subtly swept over Valena’s figure nearby. Diva’s instincts had always been keen, she felt that something ominous was about to happen.

  “Hopefully, Min is strong enough to probe her true strength. That girl is extremely dangerous.”