Chapter 175: The Council of Truth

Chapter 175: The Council of Truth

Years had passed, and Kui had already ascended to the rank of a Third Circle Legendary Knight. Using elemental powers to fly was a trivial matter for him, and keeping up with Su Nan and Rose was no challenge.

"From the distance, the Tower of the Stars should appear in the southeastern domain, about three thousand kilometers from here," Kui said. As the ruler of a nation, he was well-versed in the geography of the southeastern domain and quickly determined the location of the Tower of the Stars.

"The Tower of the Stars will fully manifest in five days. We don't need to rush," Su Nan remarked.

Kui and Rose both nodded in agreement. Flying three thousand kilometers was a significant drain on resources, whether for a Third-Level Wizard Apprentice or a Third Circle Legendary Knight. No one knew what they would encounter at the Tower of the Stars, so it was better to take it easy and conserve their strength.

Fortunately, the Tower of the Stars appeared in the southeastern domain. If it had appeared in the northwestern domain, they would have had to rush the entire five days.

Thus, the three of them flew at a leisurely pace, occasionally using the key to check the status of the Tower of the Stars.

By the fourth day, they were less than a hundred kilometers away from the Tower of the Stars. Along the way, they encountered other Wizard Apprentices. However, these apprentices only glanced at them from a distance and quickly turned away, showing no interest in interaction.

"They're not from the Forest Lodge," Rose frowned. "It seems others have also heard about the appearance of the Tower of the Stars."

"That's not surprising," Su Nan said calmly. "The manifestation of the Tower of the Stars is quite significant and will naturally attract a lot of attention."

From the images in his mind, the Tower of the Stars was enormous and hung prominently in the sky, visible from a great distance. It was bound to draw many who received the news and rushed over. However, without the key, these individuals couldn't enter the Tower of the Stars.

As they approached the Tower of the Stars, Su Nan, Kui, and Rose no longer took their time and increased their speed.

Before long, the outline of a tall tower appeared in their field of vision. As they drew closer, the full majesty of the tower became apparent. It was exactly as they had seen in the images, but the ancient and weathered appearance was even more striking in person.

The entire tower floated a hundred meters above the ground, like a spear piercing the sky. Its grand and imposing structure made one feel small and insignificant. Kui and Rose were both visibly amazed, as they had never seen such a magnificent and intricately designed building before.

Su Nan, however, remained calm. He had seen far more grand and majestic structures.

The Tower of the Stars was, at best, a small wizard's tower, and even that was a stretch. It only seemed so impressive on the Starlight Continent because it stood out among the lesser structures.

Stopping a thousand meters away from the Tower of the Stars, Su Nan briefly focused his senses and detected at least twenty auras. These auras belonged to Legendary Knights and Second-Level Wizard Apprentices, most of whom had been drawn by the manifestation of the Tower of the Stars. There might even be Third-Level Wizard Apprentices present, but they were good at hiding, making them undetectable to Su Nan.

With no intention of hiding, Su Nan found a quiet spot and sat down, waiting for the Tower of the Stars to open. As time passed, more people gathered around the tower.

Su Nan was meditating when he suddenly sensed a familiar aura approaching. Opening his eyes, he saw an old acquaintance.

"It's been a while."

Scepter approached, greeting Su Nan and Rose with a smile and nodding to Kui. Kui, knowing Scepter's stance towards the Azure Gold Empire's royal family from Su Nan, returned the smile.

After a brief chat, Scepter sat down without hesitation. Compared to the wary and secretive people around them, it was safer to stick with familiar faces.

Soon after, another familiar face joined them—Traveler. The four of them sat together, discussing the matter of Night Owl.

"I also find it strange," Scepter said solemnly. As one of the elders of the Forest Lodge and one of the first members Night Owl invited, he was well-versed in Night Owl's methods.

"I thought Night Owl would invite us all to the Tower of the Stars, but we never received any message."

”

  “And he still hasn’t shown up. It’s very likely that something really did happen to him.”

  The traveler added, “And the Hunter, he doesn’t seem to have come either.”

  If the Hunter had arrived, he would have joined them by now.

  At the thought that both Nightowl and the Hunter might be in trouble, everyone’s brows furrowed in unison.

  Just then, the four of them suddenly tensed and looked up towards the distance.

  A group of people were slowly emerging from the forest, about four or five hundred meters away.

  There were about a dozen of them, all dressed in long robes, radiating unmasked energy particles.

  They were all clearly Level Three wizard apprentices!

  A ripple of unease spread through the surrounding area.

  Clearly, the hidden observers hadn’t expected so many level-three wizard apprentices to appear at once.

  Su Nan and his companions exchanged glances, all showing signs of surprise.

  “Those faces are unfamiliar. They don’t seem to be from the Southeastern Domain’s level-three wizard apprentices,” Rose whispered.

  “They are from the Northwestern Domain,” Scepter said suddenly.

  Seeing the surprised looks on everyone’s faces, he explained in a low voice, “The royal family of the Azure Gold Empire has gathered intelligence on the Northwestern Domain’s wizards. I specifically looked it up.”

  Everyone’s expressions cleared up.

  As the dominant power in the Southeastern Domain, it wasn’t surprising that the Azure Gold Empire had gathered intelligence on the Northwestern Domain.

  The empire clearly had ambitions in the Northwest, though it no longer had the resources to pursue them.

  Scepter continued, “The one in the green robe leading them is called Mergison. He’s the Chancellor of the Truth Council in the Northwestern Domain, very powerful, and just as well-known as Saurol in the Southeast.”

  “Truth Council?” Rose snorted. “What a grand name.”

  Su Nan couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

  Using ‘Truth’ as their organization’s name, this Truth Council clearly had big ambitions.

  Scepter shrugged. “The name is a bit grand, but they have the right to use it.”

  “The Truth Council has thirteen level-three wizard apprentices. Besides Mergison, there are several other powerful ones.”

  “Like that guy with bark-like skin. He’s called Mirkhan, and he’s partially wood-elementalized. In forest environments, almost no other level-three wizard apprentice can match him.”

  Wood elementalization?

  Su Nan raised an eyebrow.

  This was a very rare type of elementalization.

  In terms of attack, wood elements were inferior to fire and lightning elements. In terms of defense, they were outmatched by earth elements. In terms of versatility, they couldn’t compare to water elements.

  But in areas with plenty of plants, a wood-elementalized wizard could unleash their full potential, making it a highly environment-dependent type of elementalization.

  “And that one with scales on his face is called Mavich. He has the bloodline of a shark-type beast, making him extremely combat-effective.”

  “The small and frail one is called Fabio. Like Skeleton, he specializes in necromancy and soul manipulation, but he’s much stronger than Skeleton.”

  It was clear that the Azure Gold Empire had done thorough intelligence work. Scepter introduced each of the dozen or so wizards in detail, though he was vague about three or four of them. For the rest, he could provide names and basic capabilities.

  As Scepter spoke, Rose and the traveler’s expressions grew increasingly serious, and their gazes towards the Northwestern Domain’s wizard apprentices became more wary.

  This wizard organization’s overall strength was on par with the Immortality Society!

  “Did these guys come here for the Starlight Tower too?” Rose frowned.

  The answer was obvious.

  The distance between here and the Northwestern Domain was over a thousand kilometers. Even if the Starlight Tower’s appearance caused a stir, it wouldn’t have reached there so quickly.

  The Truth Council’s people must have received intelligence in advance and entered the Southeastern Domain long ago.

  What Rose couldn’t understand was how they had determined that the Starlight Tower would definitely appear in the Southeastern Domain.

  Su Nan’s expression shifted, and he seemed to be thinking deeply.

  His gaze swept over the group from the Truth Council, finally settling on a figure partially obscured by a long robe and a low hood.

  At that moment, the Truth Council’s group stopped not far from the Starlight Tower.

  Seeming to notice Su Nan and his companions, Mergison turned to look at them, sized them up, and then spoke to the obscured figure in a low voice. When he turned back to Su Nan and the others, his eyes had a look of interest.

  Then, the obscured figure lifted the hood, revealing a pale face.

  “Evens!”

  The moment they saw that face, the traveler and Rose both looked startled.

The legendary knight who was the "mastermind" behind the Eternal Order's battle with the Forest Lodge was, of course, well-known to them.

But how did Evans end up working with the Council of Truth? A flash of realization crossed Su Nan's eyes.

He had heard from hunters before that Evans fled to the Northwestern Domain to avoid the Eternal Order. Now it seemed that the Council of Truth had learned about the appearance of the Star Tower from Evans.

It appeared that Evans hadn't been entirely honest with him back then. He must have had some way to predict the general location of the Star Tower's appearance.

However, that wasn't what Su Nan was most concerned about. What truly worried him was the significance of Evans being here.

"Nightowl and Hunter." Su Nan murmured, a low warning.

The other three were momentarily taken aback, but they quickly understood, their expressions darkening.

If the Council of Truth was here, they must have the keys to the Star Tower. But where did they get them? Just from Evans, or did they take some from Nightowl and Hunter? After all, Evans was one of the few who knew that the Forest Lodge possessed the keys.

If that was the case, Nightowl and Hunter were likely in grave danger! Though their relationship wasn't particularly close, being part of the same organization, the three staff members were still somewhat heavy-hearted and indignant at the thought that Nightowl and Hunter might have been killed by the Council of Truth.

Despite their feelings, they all maintained their composure, refraining from any rash actions. With the Star Tower about to open, it was crucial to conserve their strength and avoid unnecessary conflicts. They could settle scores later, after they emerged from the Star Tower.

Meanwhile, the Council of Truth was also scrutinizing Su Nan and his companions.

"Is that the Su Nan who killed Saulo? He doesn't look particularly formidable."

Mavitch licked his lips, his gaze like a venomous snake, roaming over Su Nan with an eager, predatory gleam.

His companions were not surprised by his behavior. Due to his bloodline, Mavitch had an intense desire for combat, especially against strong opponents. This reckless approach, which contrasted sharply with the cautious nature of wizards, would have long turned him into a pile of bones if he weren't so powerful.

"Judging a wizard apprentice's strength by appearance is foolish," Mikaner said expressionlessly, ignoring Mavitch's angry glare as he turned to Megison.

"Speaker, with the Eternal Order's downfall and the Forest Lodge's heavy losses, the number of third-level wizard apprentices in the Southeastern Domain has drastically decreased. This is a good time to launch an attack."

Fabio's eyes lit up, nodding in agreement. "Indeed, it is."

Megison's eyes flickered, clearly tempted by the idea. The Southeastern and Northwestern Domains had always had roughly equal numbers of wizard apprentices, and they had coexisted peacefully for years. However, after the recent turmoil, many third-level wizard apprentices in the Southeastern Domain had been killed, significantly weakening their forces. An attack now could have a high chance of success, and they might even seize the vast territory of the Southeastern Domain.

After a moment's consideration, Megison smiled faintly. "Not yet. Right now, the most important thing is the Star Tower. We'll discuss further actions after we emerge from it."

Everyone understood his meaning. Mavitch, in particular, began to eye the surrounding wizard apprentices with malicious intent. Due to the Star Tower, a considerable number of wizard apprentices had gathered in the area. Intercepting and eliminating a few batches on their way back could further weaken the Southeastern Domain's forces.

Time passed, and more and more people gathered around the Star Tower. Occasionally, someone would tentatively approach it, only to find that the seemingly real tower in the sky was just an illusion, causing them to leave in disappointment.

Eventually, no one made any further moves. Everyone waited in silence.

As the sun set and rose again, on the second day after Su Nan and his companions arrived, the Star Tower in the sky finally began to stir. With a deep, resonant hum, it slowly descended, landing with a thud and sending up a cloud of dust.

At the same moment, Su Nan felt the sigil stone in his palm suddenly heat up.

He understood immediately. The Star Tower had opened!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end