Chapter 409: Astral Mage Platform

Chapter 409: Astral Mage Platform

Rhine Province, Tidal Bay.

In a grand hall, a towering figure stood with his back to the door, facing the sea. It was the Tide Sword Saint, Leon.

He gazed at the thickening clouds over the sea, lost in thought.

As one of the few guardians who rarely resided in the Imperial City of Tamriel, he was stationed in the southern Rhine Province, tasked with suppressing the Sea God Sect and guarding a secret realm known as the 'Tidal Whirlpool,' a responsibility of great importance.

Suddenly, the Sword Saint Leon spoke, "Lambert, come in."

At the door, a tall, muscular swordsman with a two-meter-long greatsword on his back entered. He stopped about ten meters from Leon and bowed.

"Master, I wish to visit the Imperial City."

"Oh? Did the Dram family summon you?"

"Not just me. I heard that Karl also lost to them. I believe that engaging them might help me break through."

"So, I hope you will allow me to go," Lambert said, kneeling on one knee.

"Sigh, have you thought this through?"

"I have!"

"How many shadows can your Shadow Split Slash achieve?"

"Eight shadows!"

"Good! I agree to let you go." The Sword Saint Leon nodded.

"Thank you, Master." Lambert's face lit up with joy. He stood up, bowed again, and said.

Imperial City of Tamriel.

In the study of Rayn Manor.

Kayla found Rain, her expression somewhat serious. "Rain, I have some basic understanding of the Dragon Scale Brotherhood."

"Oh? So quickly, and you didn't expose yourself?" Rain immediately stood up from behind his desk, gesturing for Kayla to sit on the long sofa with him.

Two days ago, when Rain and Kayla met.

He had asked Kayla to gather information on the Dragon Scale Brotherhood and the conservative noble faction.

Although Rain, as an Elite Swordsman, could access intelligence from the Imperial Sword Keeper System at any time, most of the information was limited to external matters due to the duties of the Sword Keepers.

Inquiring about the secretive organization led by the Second Prince, the Dragon Scale Brotherhood, through the Sword Keeper system would be too sensitive.

Of course, the Sword Keepers might have some information about the Dragon Scale Brotherhood, but Rain did not want to reveal his investigation.

So, when Rain met Kayla, an idea flashed through his mind.

He asked Kayla to use her connections at the Imperial Royal Academy to gather relevant information.

Don't underestimate the Imperial Royal Academy. It includes the offspring of both progressive and conservative nobles, royal heirs, and great noble heirs, as well as a few exceptionally talented minor noble and commoner heirs.

This doesn't even count the various other types of social circles.

Moreover, these circles are not strictly divided; many of them overlap.

As the daughter of a hereditary count, Kayla could interact with people from all levels of society, making her well-informed about various matters.

"I didn't expose myself. I just probed and chatted with some old friends at banquets and salons."

"However, this method is safe, but the information obtained is quite general," Kayla said, sitting next to Rain and brushing a strand of hair from her forehead.

"Enough, it's fine." Rain said.

"I learned that several students at the Royal Academy have joined the Dragon Scale Brotherhood. Later, I asked some familiar friends for more details. These students' strength increased dramatically after joining the Dragon Scale Brotherhood."

"Their rate of improvement is not far off from yours," Kayla said, looking at Rain with her beautiful eyes.

"Is it just the rapid improvement in strength?" Rain asked.

"Rapid improvement is one aspect. Additionally, a friend told me something strange. One of the students with the Dragon Bloodline seems to have undergone a bloodline mutation recently."

"Oh? What kind of mutation?" Rain raised an eyebrow, showing interest.

"Um, the young man with the Azure Dragon Bloodline, according to my friend, initially had light blue dragon scales when transforming into a dragon form. But in a recent accidental battle, his dragon scales turned blue-black."

"More strangely, his melee combat ability seems to have greatly improved, while his control over the ice powers of the Azure Dragon Bloodline hasn't significantly improved."

"This is quite unusual. In general, it's unlikely to happen."

"Usually, the dragon scales of Azure Dragon Bloodline heirs become darker as their strength increases, typically turning from light blue to blue, then to dark blue."

"Simultaneously, their control over ice powers also improves," Kayla explained.

"Hmm, could it be a random mutation?" Rain pondered.

After all, he himself was a case of 'mutated Dragon Bloodline' as shown in the system.

"It's unlikely to be random. I investigated two others, and they had similar mutations. So, I suspect there's something wrong with the Dragon Scale Brotherhood," Kayla shook her head.

"I see," Rain nodded.

Three people mutating; the probability is too high, so there must be something wrong.

Suddenly, a thought struck Rain.

Could it be due to a potion?

It seems the 'Dragon Pulse Elixir' Buchanan gave him last time was indeed problematic.

"Rain, if the Second Prince asks you to join, find a reason to refuse," Kayla said seriously, her face turning stern.

"Understood, I already declined," Rain nodded.

"That's good."

Suddenly, Kayla smiled. "Rain, it's been a long time since we last sparred in Myister. How about we have a match?"

"Hmm?" Rain was initially slightly stunned, then he smiled. "Of course."

Since her bloodline awakened, Kayla's strength had improved rapidly. She had also heard about Rain's impressive record in the Imperial City and had a desire to see his skills.

They quickly headed to the training room.

"Rain, I'm starting."

"Go ahead."

Kayla drew her greatsword and held it diagonally.

From her starting stance, Rain recognized that Kayla was still using Arcadia Swordsmanship.

"Whoosh!"

With a slight push from her long, elastic legs, Kayla shot forward like an arrow, her greatsword slicing through the air in a silver arc, aiming for Rain from a forty-five-degree angle from above.

"Bang!"

Faced with Kayla's swift and unmatched strike, Rain merely raised his right hand and casually deflected her greatsword with a tap, moving it aside.

In an instant, Kayla's beautiful eyes flashed with surprise.

She had anticipated Rain might dodge, retreat, or cast a defensive spell, but she hadn't expected that against her 70% strength strike, Rain would effortlessly counter it.

However, Kayla's subsequent reaction was equally swift.

Since the greatsword's blade had been deflected, she quickly adjusted her footing, refocused her power, and swept her blade towards Rain's waist, following her previous attack.

And this time, the result was even more astonishing for Kayla!

As Rain's right hand moved like a striking viper, he swiftly grasped Kayla's greatsword blade, entering the white-hot blade with his bare hand.

Of course, facing Kayla, Rain naturally held back and didn't use metal transformation to destroy her weapon.

"Kayla, your strength has improved. Well done."

"However, you didn't use your full power, did you?" Rain said with a smile, releasing his grip.

"Your strength..." Kayla's eyes widened, momentarily lost in thought.

Although she had heard about Rain's significant strength improvement before, experiencing it firsthand allowed Kayla to truly grasp his terror.

She remembered back in Flashgold Town, with just 20-30% of her strength, she effortlessly defeated Rain, who had just learned the Breath Technique.

But in the County City, she was no longer Rain's match.

However, even then, it was a relatively even match, at least in terms of their greatsword duel.

But now?

Rain, with just his bare hands, effortlessly defeated her, and what's more, with just one hand!

And crucially, Kayla's strength wasn't stagnant; after her bloodline awakening, her growth was equally explosive, but unexpectedly, the gap between them seemed to widen further.

However, Kayla also had her pride, even if she couldn't defeat Rain with his bare hands.

But she couldn't let Rain defeat her with just one hand, could she?

"Rain, I will use my bloodline talent." Kayla's eyes narrowed, stating.

"Good."

Rain immediately sensed that after defeating Kayla with just one hand, she seemed to find it hard to accept.

Kayla's greatsword in hand glowed with a dense white Force light, and at the same time, deep azure currents swirled around her long, slender legs.

"Whoosh!"

Kayla bent her knees slightly, tapped her toes, and in the next moment, she vanished from her spot, appearing before Rain.

And Rain, still using just one hand, now had a layer of hardened elite metal covering his right hand.

"Clang! Clang! Ding!"

Rain stood his ground, blocking Kayla's strikes from various angles—jump slashes, chops, and sweeps—for a moment, sparks flew everywhere!

However, a hint of surprise flashed in Rain's eyes.

Kayla's speed had increased significantly.

"Blade Storm!" Kayla cried, unleashing the advanced Arcane of Arcadia Swordsmanship.

In an instant, multiple whirlwinds appeared in the arena, and Kayla spun like a top, her greatsword unleashing waves of Force towards all directions.

Rain thought for a moment, then smiled and cast a second-level defensive spell.

"Iron Armor!"

As Rain's body surface was covered in a dark silver metal membrane, a series of clanging metal sounds echoed, like a blacksmith's forge.

Kayla's greatsword blade, gleaming with a dense metallic luster, struck Rain's shield.

Not only did it cause no harm, but Kayla's wrist was numbed by the backlash.

This made Kayla pause her Blade Storm, her beautiful eyes widening, and she stared at Rain, mouth agape, saying:

"This... is a second-tier metal spell?"

"You're already a second-level liquification mage?"

Kayla was the one most familiar with Rain's growth trajectory.

In over a year, from zero to a second-level liquification mage?

Even in a bard's song, one wouldn't dare write such a thing!

"Hmm, but Kayla, your strength growth is also very fast. Now, you're almost at the quasi-legendary level." Rain smiled and nodded.

He was also gradually revealing his wizard-side strength.

Otherwise, revealing a third-tier crystalization wizard's strength all at once might be too much to accept.

"Compared to you, I feel my strength has regressed." Kayla shook her head, saying.

"By the way, Rain, I want to ask about that Anna Miss Bianca mentioned."

"Hmm?" For a moment, Rain was taken aback.

"Er, um..."

At the same time.

Imperial Sword Keeper Headquarters, General Augustus's office.

"How are the various cult organizations moving?" General Augustus asked gravely.

"Very active, but we judge this to be a surface phenomenon. Their goal is to draw the Empire's strong away from the Imperial City of Tamriel." Envoy Trena reported.

"These days, we've discovered that many cult legendary powers have traces in multiple provinces. We judge that they've already arrived in the Imperial City of Tamriel."

"Hmm, this is in line with our predictions. Their target should also be the Dragon Knight Sanctuary." General Augustus nodded.

"Strengthen personnel screening, and after the preliminary exam results are out, conduct a second background check on personnel information."

Although the personnel lists were double-checked before the Dragon Knight exam, General Augustus obviously wasn't at ease.

The destructive power of an insider can sometimes far exceed that of external enemies.

"Yes, sir."

"How's the preparation for the Astral Mage Platform going?" General Augustus asked again.

"It's been arranged, currently, four defensive magic arrays have been set up. The Royal Gryphon Guard will dispatch two entire squads to handle the aerial defense of the Astral Mage Platform."

"Additionally, the military has also dispatched an airship fleet to assist."

"For ground defense, it's heavily guarded, including the military elite, the Imperial Guard, and our Sword Keepers, forming three lines of defense."

"At that time, the Astral Mage Platform will have the second-strongest defense after the Imperial Palace." Envoy Tatiya reported.

"Very good." General Augustus nodded, saying.

As the command hall for this operation, the defense of the Astral Mage Platform couldn't be more important, especially with Marshal Alfred leading this operation.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end