Chapter 410: The Initial Test

Chapter 410: The Initial Test

"Have all the special communication devices for the Forbidden Realm been prepared?" one of them asked.

"We're still missing one. Since it was just confirmed that His Highness Rain will be joining the operation, his device is still in production," Tatia replied softly.

The communication device for the Forbidden Realm was quite intricate and had two main functions.

Firstly, it allowed the commanders on the Astral Mage Platform to communicate with the operatives within the Forbidden Realm.

Of course, there was a prerequisite for this: communication could only be established after the Forbidden Realm was opened.

Secondly, it had a positioning function.

The operatives within the Dragon Valley Sanctuary could use this device to check the location of the three Rift Closers and ensure they were in position to initiate the main mission.

In case the operatives carrying the Rift Closers failed, others could quickly locate them and continue the mission.

"Hmm, let's speed things up. Once the initial test is over, we'll distribute the communication devices," General Augustus nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"By the way, sir, should His Highness Rain, being a new addition, be included in the Rift Squad?" Tatia inquired.

For this operation, three Rift Squads were deployed, consisting of teams from the Swordbearers, the Imperial Military, and the Imperial Guard, each tasked with placing a Rift Closer.

The three squads corresponded to the placement of the three Rift Closers.

While the squads were not under each other's command, they all took orders from the Astral Mage Platform.

The reason for this arrangement was to prevent infiltration by the Cult and the Federation into the various departments of the Empire.

This arrangement was made to prevent the different squads from being compromised, ensuring they operated independently to avoid putting all their eggs in one basket.

Ideally, the best solution would be for all squad members to meet beforehand, get acquainted, and then be assigned based on their strengths and specialties.

However, the Rift Squad on the Swordbearer's side already had a fixed roster, which was why Tatia asked this question.

"No need, let's have His Highness Rain as a backup. If any issues arise, we can send him in," General Augustus replied after a moment's thought.

"Yes, sir."

Rayn Manor.

The Study.

Facing Kayla's seemingly amused yet unamused gaze, Rayn felt as if he had been doused in ice-cold water from head to toe.

The joy of his recent easy victory had long dissipated, and he was now contemplating whether to tell the truth or lie.

If he lied and Kayla already knew about Anna's situation, it would be an intentional deception.

This would likely result in an irreversible deduction of points in Kayla's heart.

If he told the truth, even among the relatively open-minded Imperial nobility, which woman wouldn't be jealous?

After some thought, Rayn decided to be honest.

So be it!

"Actually, Anna is a half-elf?" Rayn began, dropping a bombshell.

"What?" This time, Kayla was the one taken by surprise!

It was common knowledge that half-elves were even rarer than elves.

Who would've thought that Anna was a half-elf maiden?

It was rumored that half-elves were exceptionally beautiful.

Kayla's gaze softened slightly as she looked at Rayn.

"When we were in Flashgold Town, Anna lived next door to my family. Her mother went missing," Rayn began to slowly narrate Anna's story to Kayla.

Aside from some intimate interactions between Rayn and Anna, most other details were not concealed.

"I understand," Kayla nodded.

In fact, over the past few days, Kayla had already obtained quite a bit of information about Miss Anna from Rayn's sister, Mint.

Although Kayla wasn't certain if Rayn and Anna had ever been intimate, she had a hunch that there was an affection between them.

Of course, even if Rayn knew of this, he couldn't blame Mint for the information leak. A little girl, no matter how smart, couldn't possibly outwit the conversationally skilled Kayla.

Moreover, as her brother, he had once expressed that Mint was trustworthy.

In Mint's eyes, this beautiful, long-legged sister was not only pleasant to talk to but also generous with her words.

So, any information Mint had about Anna, she naturally shared with Kayla.

Incidentally, Mint had also told Kayla about some of the wild stories involving the sister.

This couldn't help but make Kayla feel a bit sullen.

Well, in just one year, he had managed to attract the attention of two maidens.

A half-elf of extraordinary beauty.

A barbarian girl with a delicate face, not at all like the savages she was born to.

This was also one of the reasons Kayla sought out Rain for a challenge, a heart full of frustration.

At the same time, before coming, Kayla also asked herself a question, whether she really liked Rain or not.

Or, to rephrase, what did she like about Rain? First, he should be strong enough.

At that moment, Rain was in Myister, helping the Habsburg family fend off attacks from the Black Flame Cult and Viper Sect, displaying exceptional strength.

Second, his potential should be great enough.

At this age, he has already reached the current level of strength, and it can be said that Rain is highly likely to become an Imperial Guardian.

Finally, during the time in Flashgold Town, Rain's first impression was one of simplicity, kindness, and loyalty.

Of course, the loyalty part should be crossed out and replaced with flirtatiousness, while the other aspects remain unchanged for now.

Now, the question arises, after becoming flirtatious, will she still choose Rain? Thinking carefully, it seems she would still choose "yes"!

Actually, without considering the last aspect, Rain could attract all the girls in the empire with just the first two.

However, regarding the flirtatiousness, she feels that she needs to have a good talk with Rain, and this situation cannot continue.

"Rain, if you go to the orchard, and you see a big, red apple, will you pick it and put it in your pocket?" Kayla asked with a hint of accusation.

"This... I guess I can eat as many as I pick." Rain replied.

"Huh?" Kayla was suddenly exasperated, her eyes like knives fixed on Rain.

She didn't believe Rain hadn't caught the meaning in her words.

But this topic, in the end, couldn't continue, because at that moment, the door to the training room was suddenly opened.

Outside the door was the surprised barbarian girl, Lagre, who also hadn't expected to see Rain and the noble girl named Kayla inside, just as she was about to come to the training room to practice her battle skills.

"Rain, I'm leaving first. Regarding the Dragon Scale Brotherhood, you should be careful." Kayla said as she prepared to leave.

Rain currently faces numerous enemies.

In that instant, Kayla suddenly realized something.

From her perspective, it is not appropriate for Rain to be distracted at this time, given her current position.

"Okay, Kayla, thank you for your help."

As she left the training room, Kayla nodded at Lagre, with a slight smile, which was a way of greeting.

Lagre also responded with a smile.

The next day.

Inside the Bishou Armament Academy headquarters.

Rain was helping his mentor, Mogaro, complete the second-generation enhanced Hellfire Golem.

"With you here, the progress is twice as fast or more. Next time you're free, you must come to help."

Mogaro gazed at the massive construct, clapped his hands, brushed off the dust, then picked up the flat iron flask, took a few gulps, and sighed with appreciation.

"No problem, Mentor. If you need to make a golem, please notify me in advance." Rain smiled and said.

With this enhanced Hellfire Golem, he now had two golems.

At the same time, at his request, behind the two six-meter-tall golems, each carrying a four-meter-long two-handed sword and a four-meter-long two-handed warhammer.

"Rain, these two weapons, are they a bit too big? They seem a little out of proportion." Mentor Mogaro stroked his beard, as if noticing something, and frowned.

With Mogaro's experience, he could easily notice the disproportion.

"They are a bit long, but it's almost right." Rain smiled and said.

Although he didn't explain, he was well aware that these two heavy weapons were mainly for his transformed states.

Although the Dragon Valley Sanctuary has an upper limit on individual strength at the Epic level, Rain, as the Dragon King, might be pushed out of the sanctuary. But fortunately, Rain has three transformation stages.

In his first form, Dragon Knight Cadet, and second form, Dragon Knight, his strength would be close to Epic, but would not reach the Epic level.

And with a hammer and a sword, these two heavy weapons in hand, Rain was confident that with his first or second form, he could sweep through opponents at the Legendary level.

Don't forget, Rain, the Thousand Blade King, this Epic profession, has never been used in his Dragon forms.

And after hearing his proud disciple's words, Mentor Mogaro naturally had nothing more to say.

"Rayn, are these two Automatons ready for transport now?" Mentor Mogaro asked.

"Yes, please arrange for an Airship to take them to the Sword Keeper Headquarters. I'll have someone receive them there,"

"Alright, Audrey, contact the Airship Hall and have them sent over immediately,"

"Yes, Mentor," Audrey nodded and left the laboratory at once.

Two more days passed, and finally, it was the assessment day for the Dragon Knight Cadet Exam.

It was the first Sunday of Harvest Moon.

At the Dragon Knight Cadet Camp in the Sixth Ring of Imperial City of Tamriel, nearly a hundred Imperial legendary-tier powerhouses gathered, and Rayn, Luther, and Halowen, all three of them, had already arrived.

Since everyone present had a powerful aura, and they were all riding mounts several times larger than warhorses, even with just under a hundred people, the camp was packed to the brim, occupying several football fields.

The Imperial realm was vast, with a population in the billions, but at this moment, this small group of people was second only to the Imperial Guardians at the top of the pyramid.

These legendary powerhouses were not of the newly-legendary tier; at the very least, they were seasoned legends.

"That's Prince Everton," Luther said quietly to Rayn beside him.

Rayn followed Luther's gaze and saw a slightly effeminate young man sitting in the center of the podium, chatting and laughing with an old man beside him.

At this moment, Rayn clearly felt many cryptic gazes focused on him, but most of them quickly averted their eyes after a glance, not wanting to stare.

After all, at their level of strength, they were quite sensitive to being stared at.

However, what made Rayn a little annoyed was that several gazes lingered on his right rear for a long time, and this prolonged staring and scrutinizing had a rather brazen feel to it.

Rayn casually scanned the area and immediately saw the faces of those few people on his right rear side.

The leader among them was a middle-aged man with dreadlocks, riding a mount that was several times larger than normal—a Bonegnaw Vulture, a Brutal Species. The overall impression it gave was that it was not someone to be trifled with.

The Bonegnaw Vulture was several times larger than normal, with blood-red eyes, a bald neck without a single feather, only thick folds of skin, and on its tiny head, an iron beak that looked disproportionately large.

From the word 'Bonegnaw,' it was not hard to guess that the Bonegnaw Vulture's iron beak had incredible attack power, capable of easily shattering the hardest beast bones and sucking out the marrow.

Moreover, from their mounts, it was clear that they were not alone.

Although the clothes of the two people beside the leader varied, they were also riding Bonegnaw Vultures, indicating that the three of them were likely a group.

This surprised Rayn a little, because he recalled and seemed not to recognize these three people.

However, he still remembered their auras.

Although the scene was filled with the auras of various Brutal Species, Rayn's sharp senses still caught a hint of something unusual.

"Hmm? This seems to be... Dragon Bloodline,"

"Could it be a member of the Dragon Scale Brotherhood?" Rayn wondered silently.

And indeed, as Rayn guessed, although each of them had official identities on the surface, they had secretly joined the Dragon Scale Brotherhood.

The leader with the dreadlocks was named Barnes, and the other two were Reagan and Bronson.

The three of them had received Buchanan's secret mission notice several days ago, knowing that they had to find an opportunity during the Sanctuary Exam to obtain the blood essence from Rayn.

Prince Everton, as one of the main examiners for the Dragon Knight Cadet Exam, naturally didn't worry about passing the initial exam.

But after understanding Rayn's intelligence, they all felt that this guy was a bit tricky and not so easy to deal with.

It was known that 'Sculptor' Harold was called the strongest legend, and it wasn't all talk.

Even Barnes, the strongest among the three, secretly thought that even if he displayed his bloodline transformation, he might have a chance to fight Harold to a draw, but to win, that would be quite a challenge.

Harold's Earth Sorcery defense was too strong.

But this young man before them had actually killed Harold, a testament to his formidable attack power.

However, they were three people, so in terms of confidence, they still had it, and Buchanan had already prepared a Sensory Orb for them.

Once they entered the Sanctuary, they could use the Orb to gather and then find Rayn.

Their goal was to assess Rayn's actual strength through his performance in the initial exam.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end