https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-568-The-True-Form-of-the-Goddess/13487305/
Chapter 567: The Queen's Knight
Chapter 567: The Queen's Knight
"Are you sure? Mills Bishop?" Rayne turned and asked, his surprise evident.
While he had heard ancient tales of the goddess wielding a divine artifact to defeat the Vile Demon, he never imagined that the artifact she used was the Chrono Key Shard.
If that were the case, it would certainly be a good thing.
According to the content left by the Goblin Princess Aimora, if they could gather two Chrono Key Shards, they could follow a specific method to locate the true artifact, the Key of Time.
"I'm certain! I can confirm this!" Archbishop Mills recalled and said firmly.
"Where is this artifact now? Is it in Cologne Cathedral?" Rayne continued.
"Isn't the one in your hand it?" Mills Bishop looked at Rayne with a strange expression, cautiously asking.
Clearly, he assumed that the artifact Rayne held was the one the goddess once used.
After all, a powerful figure like Sir Rayne could very well have found this long-lost artifact in some ancient temple.
"No, mine comes from the ancient Goblin Sky City, its origins far predating the goddess and the church." Rayne immediately understood the misunderstanding, shook his head, and said.
"Huh?"
This answer was clearly unexpected.
"There are two identical artifacts?" Archbishop Mills' eyes widened in shock.
Rayne opened his mouth, intending to say that there were more than two, but thought better of it and remained silent.
After all, he himself was not entirely clear about the secondary keys, and revealing this information could have unpredictable consequences.
"Has the church not tried to search for it?" Rayne asked.
"Of course, we have tried, and we found many clues, but that area is not under my jurisdiction." Mills Bishop, now composed, replied.
"Can you provide the specific details?"
"The specific details are likely lost. Originally, they were stored in a secret underground archive in Cologne Cathedral, in a silver metal box."
Mills Bishop glanced at the spire where the Malevolent Qi was most concentrated, his tone disappointed.
"Oh?" Rayne looked at Cologne Cathedral, his eyes flickering.
He was assessing the situation.
The Vile Demon in the Imperial Capital Temeril was stronger than the one in the Sky City Ruins.
This was why, despite having over a dozen imperial guardians, the Imperial Capital Temeril was still on the defensive. Part of the reason was the Vile Demon's special pollution, and the other part was its formidable strength, nearly that of a late-stage demigod, which was rapidly growing.
However, his own strength had also significantly increased since he first entered the Sky City.
Should he rush in now, or wait a while longer?
After a brief moment of thought, Rayne decided to act immediately.
Otherwise, if the Vile Demon's strength grew further, the opportunity would be lost.
At least, with his 'Shadow Traverse' special ability, the risk should be manageable.
"I'll be back soon."
With that, Rayne vanished from the spot.
The remaining empire's powerful figures looked at each other in shock.
"Sir Rayne... did he just go in?" Mills Bishop asked, wide-eyed.
"Seems so." Swordsaint Lambert nodded, more familiar with Rayne's style.
"That's too rash."
"Indeed."
Lagrelle and Jenniffer exchanged glances, their eyes showing concern.
Red Queen Menya's eyes, however, flashed with a hint of speculation.
Suddenly, a female attendant hurried over and respectfully said to Menya, "Princess Menya, an urgent message from the Federation."
"Read it aloud", Menya said without turning her head.
Her mind was on Rayne, and her beautiful eyes remained fixed on Cologne Cathedral, shrouded in Malevolent Qi, paying no attention to the diplomatic formalities.
"The Federation has learned of the Vile Demon attack in the empire and has immediately arranged for two dirigible fleets to deliver a large amount of supplies."
Huh?
Menya's eyes blinked in surprise as she turned to look at the female attendant.
"Did they really say that?"
"Yes, Princess Menya", the attendant nodded earnestly. "They also expressed a desire to collaborate on the restoration of Sky City, offering technical and resource support."
"Huh? When did the Federation become so accommodating?"
"Usually, they wouldn't even refrain from adding insult to injury at a time like this!"
The other empire's powerful figures also looked surprised.
"Are there no other conditions?" Elder Ivan asked from the side.
"Well, there is one condition: they hope that Iron Throne Rayne can be the empire's primary leader in the Sky City restoration project."
"Wait! Iron Throne?" Elder Ivan's eyes narrowed in confusion. "If I'm not mistaken, that title is reserved for Full Moon Wizards, right?" Reginald, standing nearby, also caught the discrepancy and asked.
Elder Ivan nodded. "I have the same question. It's unusual for such a basic language error to appear in official Federation diplomatic correspondence."
"Elder Ivan, what if it's not an error?" Red Queen Menya mused.
"Impossible! Wait, does that mean Sir Rayne has ascended to Full Moon Wizard?" Elder Ivan's eyes widened in shock.
"It makes sense."
Looking up at the spot where Rayne had disappeared, Reginald realized why Rayne was so confident.
After all, even Emperor Carlos II had failed in his final attempt.
Rayne had quietly completed his ascension.
Only a Full Moon Wizard could face a Vile Demon with such overwhelming power.
Full Moon Wizard?! Demigod?!
Lagrelle gently squeezed Jenniffer's hand, who had just recovered and was still somewhat weak, and smiled. "Looks like our worries were for nothing."
—
Rayne reappeared at the grand entrance of Cologne Cathedral.
"Even 'Shadow Traverse' is affected within the Malevolent Qi's range, but fortunately, the concentration isn't high enough to cause significant interference."
Rayne's sudden appearance was immediately detected by the Malevolent Qi-infected Corrupted Temple Guardians, who quickly charged at him.
Faster than the Corrupted Temple Guardians, dense black-gray tentacles sprouted from the ground, lashing out at Rayne.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Several of these tentacles, about seven to eight meters long, shot toward Rayne like lightning.
Rayne paid no mind to these attacks.
In a flash, he disappeared again, directly entering the more Malevolent Qi-concentrated interior of Cologne Cathedral.
"Here it is."
Having already locked onto the location with his psi energy, Rayne took a single step and arrived in the secret underground archive.
The unsealing of the Vile Demon caused the surrounding binding ward arrays to fail, which inadvertently made it easier for Rayne to teleport directly to the scene, saving him a considerable amount of time.
The secret archive room before him was in a state of chaos. It was unclear whether someone had urgently transported the documents during the incident or if the damage was caused by the overflow of attacks during the battle with the Vile Demon.
In the top-secret archive room, various precious ancient scrolls, books, and stacks of papers were scattered haphazardly across the cracked floor, fallen bookshelves, and damaged tables and chairs.
"Destroyed?"
"Or taken away?"
Rayne surveyed the room but found no sign of the silver box.
After a moment's thought, Rayne tried to use his psi energy to carefully examine the surroundings.
"Zap!"
Suddenly, a sharp black tentacle emerged from the wall, emitting a wispy black-gray Malevolent Qi, and lunged at Rayne.
"Discovered so quickly?"
"Bang!"
A metal kite-shaped shield suddenly appeared in front of Rayne, blocking the sharp black tentacle.
This defense, however, was like lighting a candle in the dark, giving the enemy a clear direction to attack.
In an instant, a dense array of sharp black tentacles, like a torrential downpour, surged toward Rayne from all sides of the walls.
At the same time.
A spherical Dark Silver metal shield enveloped Rayne, deflecting all the attacks.
"Found it."
Rayne's face lit up with joy, and he vanished from the spot.
He reappeared in the corridor on the upper floor, where the silver metal box and several other boxes were scattered haphazardly.
From the scene, it was clear that the Church of the Goddess had organized a team to transport these top-secret documents, but the Vile Demon's sudden surge caused chaos, and various documents and stored items were abandoned here.
Rayne immediately approached, picked up the box, and prepared to leave.
At that moment, the black-gray tentacles, composed of Malevolent Qi, like an inescapable curse, wrapped around him from all sides of the walls and the ground.
"Truly revolting."
"Since that's the case, I can't let this go unanswered." Rayne's eyes narrowed, and in the next instant, he appeared in the sky outside Cologne Cathedral.
A thin metal thread connected the silver box, allowing it to float effortlessly in mid-air.
Rayne then pulled out the last blood-colored divine fragment from his pocket and crushed it. In just a few seconds, his mental mutation value surged from 37% to 49%.
Feeling the increasingly powerful psi energy, Rayne narrowed his eyes, looked down, and began to chant a spell. He then raised his hand and swung it down with a forceful motion!
A high-frequency oscillating, hundred-meter-long Dark Silver saw-like energy beam extended from his right hand and slashed straight down into the center of Cologne Cathedral's twin spires, plunging deep into the ground!
This was Rayne's newly mastered metal-based full moon skill, 'Resonant Edge!'
"Zap!!!"
The sound of the cut was barely audible, but it penetrated deep into the ground.
"Roar!!!"
Instantly, a furious roar erupted from below!
The roar echoed throughout the Imperial Capital of Temeril, and at the same time, a large number of black tentacles turned into black smoke.
Whether it was the fleeing civilians or the fighting warriors, they all turned to look. Even those in the camp, thousands of meters away, heard this inhuman roar filled with anger and defiance.
If one looked down from the sky above the Imperial Capital, they would see that the half-spherical dark-gray Malevolent Qi, which had been expanding outward from Cologne Cathedral, suddenly began to contract, shrinking from a diameter of several kilometers to nearly half its size before stopping.
Dozens of massive black tentacles, as thick as water buckets, were also fiercely retaliating above Cologne Cathedral.
But by then, Rayne had already disappeared.
This strange phenomenon naturally left the empire's experts in the camp astonished!
The Vile Demon had reduced the range of its domain, clearly indicating that it was under threat. The one who had acted must have been the newly ascended Full Moon Wizard, Rayne Iron Throne, who was at Cologne Cathedral.
At that moment, Rayne, holding the silver box, reappeared in the camp.
"Bishop Mills, is this it?" Rayne gestured to the box in his hand.
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty, no, Lord Iron Throne, you managed to retrieve it?!" Bishop Mills, looking slightly tense, bowed and said.
In less than a minute, he had calmly entered the treacherous interior of Cologne Cathedral, found the item, and brought it out.
Bishop Mills knew all too well the numerous life-and-death challenges he had faced when escaping from Cologne Cathedral.
"Hmm?" Rayne was slightly surprised.
The title 'Iron Throne' was known only to a few, like Helm. How did it reach here?
"Did the Federation send a message?"
"Yes, Rayne, congratulations, the first Full Moon Wizard in a thousand years." Menya approached gracefully, smiling.
She had sensed that Rayne's strength had increased, but she couldn't be sure until now.
With this confirmation, the pressure she had been carrying lifted.
The Imperial Capital had been almost completely destroyed, and the Dragon Empire, with its two-thousand-year history, was on the brink of collapse. The empire's people were like fledglings left to the cold and hungry, without a home.
All of this translated into a suffocating pressure for the common people.
Even she, known as the 'Red Queen,' a seasoned Epic-Level Warrior and the late Emperor Carlos II's aunt, was struggling to bear it.
Rayne looked into Menya's eyes, sensing the weight of the burden she carried.
He stepped forward, took her hand, bowed, and kissed it, saying:
"Thank you, Princess Menya. Here, I hope to become your guardian knight. Will you allow it?"
Menya was initially surprised but, seeing the bright and encouraging look in Rayne's eyes, understood immediately. She nodded and said:
"Of course, Lord Iron Throne Rayne. It is my honor."
The surrounding empire's experts suddenly realized that the relationship between the two was much closer than they had imagined.
But was this important now?
Not really.
What mattered was that the teetering empire had found a new pillar and a new backbone.
Instantly, applause thundered around them!
A few minutes later.
The group gathered around a long table in the camp's tent for the first emergency meeting after the Vile Demon incident.
"Princess Menya, urgent reports from the provinces: the Maen Province experienced a large-scale blood sacrifice by the Grafting Cult; multiple black-robed Plague Messengers of the Plague Cult openly appeared in the Moselle Province, spreading the plague and their doctrines; the Kaswis Province saw the emergence of a strong Black Flame Church member, and the local Lavak County was captured. The Norm and Savo Provinces..."
The female steward's face was serious as she quickly reported the latest urgent news.
The faces of the empire's experts grew increasingly grave with each detail.
Whether it was the seasoned guardian Elder Ivan or the newly ascended sword saint Lambert, they all understood that the Dragon Empire was at a critical moment of survival.
The sudden Vile Demon incident at Cologne Cathedral had sparked intense activity among the cults.
Faced with the increasingly turbulent energy tides, the situation could become even more challenging.
The solutions to these pressing problems lay with the empire's youngest guardian and the first Full Moon Wizard in a thousand years, standing before them.
Rayne, of course, noticed the increasing focus on him.
He knew that in this situation, he had to say something.
(End of Chapter)
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