Chapter 403: The Twin Snakes

Chapter 403: The Twin Snakes

Since he had decided to decline the offer from the Second Prince, Rain naturally had to prepare for the consequences.

Especially with the Dragon Knight Cadet Recruitment happening next week, Rain was certain that the other party would inquire about his final decision before then.

Although he could obtain related information through the Swordmaster channels, Rain wasn't clear about the progress of the purge within the Swordmaster organization. As a participant in the previous recruitment, Luther should have a better understanding.

Upon Rain's inquiry, Luther was initially startled, then he laughed and said, "Rain, with your strength, I believe you have nothing to worry about in this assessment."

"But since you asked, I'll give you a brief overview."

"First, the initial assessment is a practical flight test, focusing on 'flight' and 'practical combat' aspects."

"The 'flight' requirement means that candidates must ride a flying mount, allowing evaluators to observe their flying skills. That's why the candidates need to have flying mounts."

"In essence, if a candidate can control their flying mount to navigate through obstacles and perform maneuvers like sharp turns and dives in mid-air, they can be deemed capable of handling a dragon in the future."

"As for 'practical combat,' it tests the candidate's ability to defeat enemies while riding their mount."

"Since there are numerous individuals with exceptional flying skills, and Dragon Knights aren't circus trainers, they need to demonstrate sufficient combat prowess."

Luther added, seemingly to aid Rain and Halowen's understanding.

"So, the first assessment is practical combat? What about the second one?" Halowen asked, his face filled with confusion upon hearing this.

After all, in most assessments with multiple stages, the difficulty usually progresses from easy to challenging.

For example, the first stage might test physical fitness or skills, while the second stage would be practical combat.

"As for the second assessment, Rain and Halowen, all participants who advanced to the second stage have signed high-level confidentiality agreements with the Royal Family, so I can't disclose any details." Luther frowned as he spoke.

"However, I heard that Rain recently visited the Flame Canyon?" Luther seemed to have remembered something, emphasizing the words "Flame Canyon" before pausing and looking at Rain with a smile.

Rain thought for a moment and then smiled, nodding, "Thank you, Luther. I understand."

He understood Luther's implication.

The second assessment was likely to take place in a secret realm similar to the Flame Canyon, although the specific content was unknown.

For instance, it might involve defeating more challenging enemies in this unique secret realm, or the presence of dragons or dragon-related creatures within the realm...

At this moment, after a brief moment of contemplation, Halowen also realized the situation.

After learning about the Dragon Knight Cadet Recruitment, Rain proposed to take his leave and agreed to meet tomorrow at the campsite to familiarize himself with flight techniques.

After all, Rain had rarely engaged in aerial combat since he started riding Blood Feather. Compared to him, Luther and Halowen had much more experience in this regard.

Of course, Rain wasn't concerned about coordination issues.

As a Beast Priest (Legendary) with his profession, coordinating with Blood Feather wouldn't be a problem. The main purpose was to familiarize himself with the venue and exchange strategies with Luther and Halowen for dealing with different enemies.

Just as Rain was about to board the carriage to head to the Academy Outpost, he suddenly noticed that Olena was already waiting by his side.

"Oh, Olena, is there something urgent?" Rain asked, seeing Olena's solemn expression.

"Let's talk on the carriage."

"Okay!"

After they sat down in the carriage, Rain cast a soundproofing spell. Then Olena started her report: “Just now, Lieutenant Tatiya sent an emergency message. During the tail end of the cleanup, someone discovered that in the Swordmaster's file management department, the details of the mission you executed showed signs of leakage.”

"Hmm, I had a hunch." Rain nodded calmly.

He had anticipated this situation.

The locations and timing of the previous assassination attempts against him were nearly optimal. It was almost impossible for no one to have leaked his information.

Hearing Rain's words, Olena was surprised.

However, she could sense a confidence in Rain's calm demeanor and tone, and admiration arose within her.

"There's another piece of news. Yesterday, the Swordmaster's internal inspectors learned from some detained individuals that your personal mission records seemed to have been intentionally leaked to a cult organization."

"Oh?" Rain raised his eyebrows.

This situation was quite intriguing.

But after a moment of thought, Rain understood and guessed the general idea.

"It seems that members of the conservative faction might have leaked your mission records."

"Alena's words confirmed Rain's suspicions.

"So, they're using the cult to get rid of me?"

"Yes, Lord Rain."

As Rain smiled, Alena felt her tension ease significantly.

Initially, when she learned of this situation, she was extremely anxious. Even an Elite Swordsman with exceptional combat prowess could be in grave danger if targeted by one or multiple cult organizations.

This was why the Swordbearer's missions were kept confidential.

"Lieutenant Tatiya has arranged for your future missions to be encrypted and sealed after execution to ensure such incidents don't recur," Alena explained.

"However, she advises that you exercise caution when going out on missions and suggests that your family should not leave the Imperial Capital unless absolutely necessary."

"The cult organizations are not like the conservative noble factions. They might directly retaliate against your family," Alena added.

"Alright, I understand," Rain nodded.

Fortunately, he had already brought his family to the Imperial Capital, and with its formidable defenses, it was relatively safe unless an incident like the previous deity's avatar descent occurred.

As Alena prepared to leave, Rain remembered something and said,

"Oh, and Lady Alena, could you help me look up some information in the headquarters' library about Bloodline Corruptors and Shattered Ones?"

"Bloodline Corruptors and Shattered Ones? Of course, Lord Rain."

Bishou Armament Academy.

After spending around two hours, Rain quickly earned 550 contribution points by assisting in crafting puppet components.

Combined with his remaining 120 contribution points, he acquired the third layer of the Advanced Meditation of Steel Heart.

This was also the last layer possessed by the academy.

In other words, if he wanted to learn the original fourth layer of the Advanced Meditation of Steel Heart, he might need to explore the ruins of the ancient wizard academy mentioned by Mentor Mogaro.

"For now, I'll focus on thoroughly understanding and mastering the third layer."

After bidding farewell to Mentor Mogaro, Rain promptly returned to the manor.

In his study, Rain took out the memory crystal that recorded the third layer of the Advanced Meditation of Steel Heart.

As a unique memory content appeared in his mind, Rain began to carefully read, understand, and contemplate.

"The third layer of the Advanced Meditation of Steel Heart has an extremely high difficulty."

"But upon successful cultivation, it not only further enhances one's mental power and promotes spiritual crystallization, but also increases the power of metal magic by approximately sixty percent."

"Sixty percent?"

"I recall the second layer increased metal magic power by forty percent, which was already astonishing, allowing my Tier 2 metal magic to almost reach the threshold of Tier 3 magic. Now, it's sixty percent."

At this point, Rain's eyes lit up! This further fueled his determination to master the third layer.

Calming his emotions, Rain began to follow the cultivation requirements of the third layer, diligently attempting to manifest the mental image.

Unlike the second layer's mental model of sixty will runes, the third layer's model was more intricate, described as 'extremely high' in complexity.

Those with insufficient talent or mental power might feel nauseous and dizzy just by looking at this complex image, unable to persist.

Rain carefully counted and found that the third layer's model consisted of a staggering one hundred and twenty will runes.

This was nearly double the difficulty of the second layer!

It was evident that manifesting this intricate image in one's mind would be an arduous task.

"However, with my mental power of 123 points, I should grasp it faster."

"Additionally..."

Rain checked his attribute panel, and the remaining 22 attribute points were a significant advantage in quickly mastering the third layer.

Rain began to visualize the third layer's mental model.

Two hours later.

After numerous attempts, Rain could successfully visualize ninety-six will runes, just twelve short of the full one hundred and twenty.

According to the records in the memory crystal, his progress far surpassed that of a newly advanced Tier 3 crystallization wizard.

Most records showed that wizards at the third layer of crystallization struggled to sketch ninety will runes after three months.

However, Rain was still unsatisfied with this progress.

Previously, when cultivating the second layer, he had nearly completed the mental image, missing only five will runes. Now, he was twelve short.

"Indeed, it's no wonder it's considered extremely difficult," Rain muttered, massaging his slightly throbbing temples.

"Let's start allocating points!"

Without hesitation, Rayn immediately added 1 point to his Mental attribute.

As his Mental attribute increased from 123 to 124, Rayn felt a sudden coolness in his mind, as if a clear mountain spring had emerged in his thoughts, washing away all mental fatigue.

With his state restored to peak condition, Rayn smiled and once again visualized the intricate three-dimensional model in his mind.

Time passed, and several minutes later...

The first Will rune.

The thirtieth...

The ninety-ninth Will rune! After this, Rayn felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

"I've consumed 1 point of attribute points and progressed three Will runes."

"The difficulty is indeed high!"

"However, it's within expectations. There are only nine left now!"

Facing potential threats, Rayn naturally sought to enhance his combat power, especially since the effect of the third layer of the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation increased the power of Metal Magic by sixty percent.

For Rayn, this was of great significance.

Thus, Rayn added another 1 point to his Mental attribute. With his state fully restored, he repeated the process once more.

This time, Rayn reached a total of one hundred and two runes.

"Again!"

As Rayn added more Mental points, he continued to visualize the three-dimensional pattern of the third layer.

"Again!"

Time passed, and as the sky gradually lightened with the morning glow, Rayn's face lit up with joy. He clenched his fists and waved them vigorously!

After spending almost an entire night, Rayn had added points six times, and finally succeeded in visualizing the third layer of Iron Heart Advanced Meditation all at once.

At this moment, his Mental attribute had increased to one hundred and twenty-nine points.

In his consciousness, the third layer's crystal foundation, which was originally ring-shaped, had now thickened nearly twice, appearing even more solid.

The system prompt also appeared:

【You have improved your understanding by practicing the third layer of Iron Heart Advanced Meditation!】

【Your skill Iron Heart Advanced Meditation has been enhanced, +5 experience points】

Rayn quickly located the skill icon for Iron Heart Advanced Meditation on his Battle Hammer Wizard (Legendary) profession panel and examined the changes in the skill description.

The new description read as follows:

Iron Heart Advanced Meditation lv7 (1/5000), with the effect 'Metal Mastery lv3'.

【Metal Mastery lv3 (Passive) Effect: Your ability to control Metal energy particles has significantly increased.】

"The effect of Metal Mastery lv3 has changed from 'slightly increased' to 'significantly increased'."

"The third layer of Advanced Meditation corresponds to levels lv7 to lv9."

With his experience from the previous layer, Rayn thought for a moment and then allocated 2 skill points to Iron Heart Advanced Meditation lv7.

As Iron Heart Advanced Meditation advanced from lv7 to lv9, a flood of memories about the third layer's cultivation rushed into Rayn's mind.

In an instant, Rayn felt as if he had entered a mysterious space and experienced a century's worth of Advanced Meditation cultivation.

After a few minutes, when Rayn tried to visualize the third layer's model again, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the visualization time had nearly decreased by two-thirds.

Looking at the remaining 1 skill point, Rayn knew that he had likely reached the limit for Advanced Meditation, but he still wanted to confirm.

As he added the point, as expected, the system failure prompt appeared:

【Failed to add point! You have reached the current limit for Iron Heart Advanced Meditation.】

"Good."

Seeing this, a smile appeared on Rayn's face. Lv9 was the limit for the third layer.

At this moment, Rayn checked his attribute panel again and noticed a significant change in his Mental attribute:

Mental: 120 (Crystallization 2%)



It should be noted that after his previous addition of points, his Mental attribute had reached 129 points, but now it had decreased to 120, a whole 9 points less. However, the crystallization progress had increased by one percentage point, from 1% to 2%.

Due to his experience from the previous liquefaction, Rayn was not too surprised, but the extent of the decrease was slightly beyond his expectations.

"It seems that Advanced Meditation has the effect of refining and purifying Mental attributes."

"After all, what's being condensed is the essence."

After a night of Advanced Meditation practice, perhaps due to the joy of success or the recovery effect of adding points, Rayn did not feel any fatigue. Instead, he felt eager to test his abilities.

At this moment, a ray of dawn shone through the window, gently illuminating Rayn, and the youthful energy of the young man seemed to harmonize with the morning light.

Swordmaster Headquarters.

Tatiya's office, with someone coming in to report every few minutes.

"Lady Tatiya, last night, several provinces including Vaz, Mosel, Nom, and Marn, were attacked by the cult."

"The enemy's forces this time were of a high level, including an Epic-tier individual comparable to an Imperial Guardian. Swordbearers from various provinces have requested headquarters for support."

(End)

"A report has arrived regarding a matter involving an Epic-level foe. General Augustus has reviewed it and the mission will be issued in the mission hall as a task." Tatiya quickly processed the information.

Due to the high coordination level of the Empire Guardian, which required General Augustus to personally handle the matter, Tatiya? Is there a new mission?"

"It involves an Epic-level foe, General Augustus has reviewed it. The other matter is in the mission hall, to be issued as a task." Tatiya swiftly responded.

"Additionally, over the past week, there's been a significant increase in cult activity within the Empire's territory, with frequent appearances of Epic-level foes."

Accordingly, nearly ten Empire Guardians had to leave the Imperial Capital of Temriel to deal with the matter.

At this time, a female staff member approached Lieutenant Tatiya and whispered, "Lieutenant Tatiya, we've discovered that the Twin Serpents, Ariada and Alida, appeared in the province of Vaz three days ago."

"But just yesterday, they were spotted in the province of Nom. According to the Intelligence Hall's assessment, their destination is likely towards the Imperial Capital."

Upon hearing this, Tatiya's expression changed slightly.

The Twin Serpents are the third among the twelve Viper Messengers of the Viper Sect, far surpassing the lower-ranked messengers. It is said that the two are sisters and possess a special ability of telepathic communication.

It's easy to imagine that as Legendary Peak-level foes, they can coordinate perfectly in battle, making this situation extremely challenging.

Their battle records further support this.

Aside from that, the fact that they repeatedly escaped from the Empire Guardians is a testament to their strength.

Considering their destructive power and tenacity, the Twin Serpents, Ariada and Alida, have been under close watch by the Empire's Swordsmen.

"What's the assessment of the Intelligence Hall?"

"Lieutenant Tatiya, this is the assessment from the Intelligence Hall." The girl staff member opened a record and presented it to Tatiya.

"Hmm? Seventy percent probability, not low." Tatiya narrowed her eyes and muttered to herself.

The record stated: 'Given the leak incident, there's a seventy percent chance that the target of the attack is Lord Rayn.'

Tatiya was well aware of Lord Rayn's entanglement with the Viper Sect during his time in the Minster Branch.

At that time, Lord Rayn had killed two Viper Messengers, namely Ice Snake Edmond and Mad Snake Icarus.

Therefore, Tatiya agreed with the assessment of the Intelligence Hall.

Since the mission records were leaked, it's likely that they are seeking revenge.

However, they wouldn't dare enter the Imperial Capital of Temriel easily, and it's highly probable that they are waiting for an opportunity near the capital.

"Immediately inform Deputy Director Alena and ask her to notify Lord Rayn to be cautious. Also, pass on the detailed information about the Twin Serpents to Lord Rayn."

"Yes, Lieutenant Tatiya, I'll go now." The girl staff member saluted and left promptly.

Meanwhile, over a hundred miles away from the Imperial Capital of Temriel, in a remote area of the town of Tafulin.

A plain carriage stopped at the entrance of a manor, but the two figures who descended were far from ordinary.

The two women in grey robes had graceful and slender figures, and they looked extremely similar. From their posture, they were undoubtedly beautiful, but both wore hoods, which was unusual.

However, their delicate noses and cherry lips revealed not only beauty but also an uncanny resemblance, making it impossible to tell them apart.

"Lady Ariada, Lady Alida, your journey must have been tiring." An impressive black-robed elder slightly bowed to the two women.

Upon closer inspection, one would discover that this elder was also a Tier 3 Crystalized Wizard.

"Hmm, we're lucky. The journey was relatively smooth." One of the women replied crisply.

"By the way, Lord Olleane, how many days are left for the Dragon Knight Cadet Recruitment? Has the Empire confirmed the opening date of the Dragon Valley Secret Realm?"

"Uh, Lady Ariada, there are five days left until the recruitment.

"As for the opening date of the Secret Realm, we can't confirm it yet, but according to custom, it's usually opened three to five days after the first assessment is completed." The elder named Olleane replied.

"Then we'll await your news. By the way, you should understand the importance of this mission, don't take it lightly, Lord Olleane." Ariada said.

"By the way, do we need to take care of a certain older sister along the way? The one who killed Ice Snake and Mad Snake, what was her name?" Alida asked suddenly.

The black-robed elder took the initiative to speak: "Her name is Lord Rayn, and we've confirmed that she's participating in the Dragon Knight Cadet Recruitment."

"Hehe, is that so? Interesting. Sister, it seems we won't need to make two trips, just one will do the trick." Alida couldn't help but laugh.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end