Chapter 69: 68. The Rule of Mortals

68. The Rule of Mortals

Four people walked into the door, while outside, the Annihilation Knights, clad in hellish armor, stood guard, as deep and unfathomable as an abyss.

"What is that?" Dorothy whispered.

"That is the formidable enemy that both Lancelot and I have encountered."

"It looks terrifying."

The door to the room remained open; the four people inside took their seats, and the mysterious figure in the cloak was invited by the Count to the head seat.

Dorothy pointed at the half-elf and leaned into Leon's ear: "That is my second brother, Elton."

Her breath was like orchids, and the faint fragrance on her body, carrying a hint of dampness from their walk, constantly emphasized her presence.

Ever since a moment ago, he didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt she was getting closer and closer.

As soon as they sat down, the mysterious figure spoke in a hoarse, trembling voice:

"Count of Spark Island, the Emperor is deeply disappointed in you."

The middle-aged red-haired Count lowered his head: "My Lord Envoy, this is indeed my lack of consideration. I am ready to accept punishment."

"Punishment? You have hindered the Emperor's great cause; do you think your punishment can offset that? You are truly arrogant."

The Count kept his head low, saying nothing.

The envoy sneered: "Your Spark Island is not the only island near the shipping lanes. Before the Empire's Annihilation Knights, your prosperous city is not even worth a straw hut; it could be razed in a single night."

The Imperial envoy was right; ordinary towns were different from the cities of ancient civilizations reinforced by magic. For the Annihilation Knights' Calamity-Ending Thunder Blades, destroying these buildings in Spark Port was as simple as a breath.

"It is the Finat family that has failed the Emperor!" the Count said hurriedly: "From now on, the entire income of the territory will be invested in the 'construction' of the great cause, until the Emperor's glory shines across the entire sky!"

The envoy snorted coldly: "Because of the failure of you and your son, two precious Annihilation Knights must be sent here to clean up your mess!"

Two knights? Leon pinched his chin in thought.

One had come to hunt down Leon and Lancelot, while the other was likely off sealing the shipping lanes for Winders. No wonder they had been inside for so long, yet hadn't seen a single ship enter behind them.

"As the local lord, your soldiers have yet to discover their whereabouts even now; you are truly utterly incompetent."

The envoy continued to berate the Count, who only dared to bow his head and listen to the lecture, while Winders beside him looked slightly resentful, though he was trying his best to restrain it.

Leon could understand Winders. With the combat power of the Soul Apex, not to mention twenty main members arriving, even a small team of five, through mutual coordination, could easily handle five Annihilation Knights.

However, generally speaking, the Heavenly Group would never leave the Demon Disaster Domain; there were legitimate matters there, and the resources obtained were incomparable to those in the four major sky regions.

Having witnessed the scenery at the pinnacle of the world, Winders was certainly dissatisfied with the current situation, but he did not dare to speak recklessly when the survival of his own territory was at stake.

Leon used the system to observe the envoy with the dark gold eye.

【Name: Clement, Apostle of the God's Eye】

【Race: Unknown [Modified]】

【Occupation: Star-Puller, Rank 7. Curse Master, Rank 6】

【Summoned Beast: Shadow of the Annihilator, Rank 7】

【Energy Source: Primordial Star Core, Rank 8】

【Equipment: Ancient Ritual Full Robe, Rank 6. God's Eye Robe, Rank 7. Star-Pulling Instrument, Rank 7.】

【Ultimate: Star Soul Imitation Ultimate—Calamity-Ending Thunder Beam】

【Skills: Star-Puller [Pulling Star Soul Light, Mimicry Link, Annihilator Flesh Reconstruction], Curse Master [Spirit Manipulation]】

Leon looked closely at the specific details of his panel again; this mysterious person was indeed related to the Star Soul.

As of now, the Empire, Zoe, and the Star Soul were all closely linked; they likely pointed to the same ancient clue.

Newbis was ancient and vast. Sometimes, scholars discovered that different ruins, separated by great distances, belonged to the same civilization. By connecting the clues, they used information obtained from simple ruins to conquer more difficult ones.

Now Leon also knew that the object warned of by the Sky Blue Ring gifted by the mysterious girl was not the Annihilation Knights themselves, but that dark golden "God's Eye."

This should be the fourth element in the main plot that Zoe had to face.

Dorothy asked softly: "There are two of those knights that are hard for you to deal with? Then what about tomorrow?"

"Let's listen to what else they have to say first."

After being scolded by the envoy, Count Finat glared at Winders.

"If not for your failure, why would the Empire need to send an Apostle and the blades? Incompetent!"

Winders kept his head down without speaking; Leon guessed he was hiding the dissatisfied expression on his face.

"I will not participate in your family meeting. After the Annihilation Knights eliminate those two, they need to return as soon as possible to participate in the suppression of the Order Group. Have your son return to the shipping lane entrance as soon as possible."

After the envoy finished speaking, he left with the Annihilation Knights.

"For the glory of the Empire!"

The Finat father and son and Dorothy's second brother shouted in unison.

Leon guessed that Winders had been captured by him and Lancelot, and the Count, realizing he had made a mess of things, had quickly sought the Empire's support.

Two Annihilation Knights were also very critical to the current Empire, and the Apostle who seemed responsible for controlling them was therefore very angry.

After the Count went out to see the Apostle off, he returned shortly after and began to berate Winders the moment he entered.

"Winders, you have made my management of the past two years go almost to waste! Since the family took Spark Island, how much effort has been spent guarding it over the years? That Emperor is different from the previous ones; his methods are extremely ruthless! If our status as a trade hub is revoked, we will drag the Campbell family down with us!"

After scolding him, the Count looked at Elton Campbell on the side.

This young man had an outstanding appearance like his sister; his handsome looks paired with long, pale golden hair naturally exuded a sense of nobility.

"Count, please calm your anger. The Empire was already taking a risky move; both our families know how much effort we spent to catch this wind of their rise."

Once the Apostle was gone, Winders no longer hid the expression on his face. He gave a strange laugh: "The Empire? Old things from hundreds of years ago. Why don't you go to the Demon Disaster Domain and see? Go to the edge of the sky region and see? See what the Heavenly Group is fighting against?"

"Wanting to unify the Ignis Sky Region and daring to provoke the Guild—is it really such a big deal to pull in one or two combatants of the Excellent realm?"

The Count said: "Since you believe the power of Sky Knights surpasses that of local lords, why haven't you built reliable relationships among them?"

The middle-aged lord pointed toward the harbor: "While I was building momentum for you, you were trampled into the dirt from the sky. And after being captured by the Order Flame Group, I have been listening to you curse that Sky Knight involved in the matter. His name is Leon, right? Since you were former group-mates, why didn't you befriend him?"

After the Count finished speaking, Dorothy grabbed Leon's arm, her moist eyes wide open. She pointed a finger at him while keeping her mouth shut, afraid to startle the people in the room.

"You, you were actually in that First Group too? You kept hiding it and didn't say anything because you wanted to see me make a fool of myself?"

"I'm not anymore. Even if I was, there's no need to keep bringing it up. I'm more concerned about the future."

"The future." Dorothy was thoughtful; she looked at her palm and gradually clenched it into a fist.

It was normal for Dorothy to know the Soul Apex had risen to first place but not know its members.

The Guild's rules allowed each group to choose whether to disclose their members. Group leaders like Rams certainly wouldn't disclose them. It wasn't until they became number one this time that he chose to disclose them to expand the team's reputation.

For most residents of Newbis, Sky Knights were people very far removed from their lives; regardless of whether you were a Heavenly Group or an Earthly Group, they didn't care at all.

And for ordinary Sky Knights, the truth about matters between Heavenly Groups was not as interesting as gossip passed down through several hands.

Only those with a bit of strength would pay attention to which people on the rankings were in which groups, combining the various anecdotes they heard to judge the true situation in the sky. Because this overlapped with their own social circles.

Dorothy repeated her document organization work day after day, or hid in her room; she couldn't see the news at all.

Winders let out a breath of frustration: "Of course I wanted to curry favor with the group leader; didn't you say the same? Leon and the group leader didn't get along, who knew that bastard... who knew he actually had some substance? Everything he did in the group before was just right; I really didn't notice."

The Count said: "This is the result of being too young, not knowing how to leave a way out, offending people before even figuring out their background. Because you don't know how to maintain interpersonal relationships, you are now in an awkward position."

"Oh my, Count Finat, please calm down. No one wants things like this to happen." Dorothy's second brother spoke up.

"Don't put on an act."

Winders held his chin high and looked down at Elton; after all, he was a Rank 6 warrior-class professional, and he was much taller than Elton.

"The old man is deliberately lecturing me, mainly to put on a show for you. He's worried that because of my affairs, the Campbell family, who originally needed our help, will instead take advantage of the situation."

"I suggest you don't look forward to clinging to the Empire too much. It's more important for our two families to find a way to cultivate one or two high-rank Sky Knights, or to reach a cooperative relationship with a powerful team. You have no idea how much stronger high-rank Sky Knights are when they coordinate with each other!"

"As for me, the Campbell family originally needed our help, which is why they sent your sister over. Yes, she is very beautiful, but she has a sour face all day long and no charm at all; I might not even take a fancy to her."

Leon heard Dorothy beside him let out a "Hmph." She had now returned to the arrogant noble lady posture she had when they first met.

"Do not misunderstand, Brother Winders." Elton made a gesture of raising his hands to make himself appear non-aggressive: "I would absolutely not have any thoughts because of an accident."

Elton nodded to Count Finat: "As the rulers of the island, our two families actually know the power and trouble of Sky Knights. Seeking cooperation was originally to stop having to look at their faces."

The Count said: "Winders, if you could really bring in the power of a top-tier Sky Knight group, then everything in the Finat family could be yours to command, and your eldest brother would have to step aside, but clearly you cannot do that."

"The legends of the Demon Disaster Domain are too distant for us who have ruled mortals for generations, and I don't know how top-tier Sky Knight groups fight, which is why we must cultivate our own strength."

Leon thought the Count was right. Winders thought he had seen the scenery at the top and was already above the others in his family, but he didn't understand the Soul Apex group leader.

Rams knew clearly who was useful and who was not. But he had a principle—if a useful person was of no use to him, then they were useless; if a useless person was of use to him, then they were useful.

In the past, Winders could bring him money, while Leon limited his ability to use the team to seize private gains.

Now, Winders' situation would bring trouble to Rams. Therefore, the older generation like the Count valuing their own foundation was a very steady way of thinking.

The reason Leon felt that private gain was not that important was because in this world, although an individual could not possess the power to move the world, the power exerted by a team of well-coordinated experts could allow one to be completely free from the shackles of the mortal world.

Count Finat looked directly at his son.

"Winders, do you think that as rulers, we don't understand what kind of power Sky Knights possess?"

"Their Guild pretends to say 'For order, for Newbis,' asking us to treat our subjects well and not to use force arbitrarily. You don't dare not follow their rules; this is a form of oppression for us."

"In the three hundred years since the Guild was founded, the average strength of those Sky Knights has become higher and higher, and all the islands in the Ignis Sky Region have been treated like their back gardens, coming and going as they please."

"The name 'Knight' sounds nice, but before the Guild, they were just a bunch of stray dogs fighting for food, homeless adventurers!"

The half-elf youth spoke: "Our Campbell family can use the climate of the Elf Island to tame monsters and build a monster cavalry army, but the main monster trade is still controlled by the Giant's Garden."

"And the Finat family is located on a major traffic artery. Because our military strength is not enough and the passing Sky Knights are becoming increasingly powerful, we are now too restricted by the rules set by the Guild. We are tied up even when we want to give someone preferential treatment or restrict someone."

"The Empire has mastered power completely different from the past this time. By borrowing the rise of the Empire, we can make up for each other's shortcomings, which will definitely allow mortal kingdoms like ours to reach a higher level."

Elton nodded to the Count: "Let's talk about the duration of our cooperation and tomorrow's engagement ceremony."