Chapter 405: Prelude

Gods have fallen to the mortal realm, and the God Continent is undergoing massive changes.

Many human kingdoms have changed rulers, and there have also been major shifts among the upper echelons of some Churches.

Of course, some Legendary ascetics have also begun to appear in the public eye.

The entire Continent is in a strange state.

Meanwhile, Iron Stone City appears exceptionally lively.

Today, nearly three hundred new players have joined.

Lin Chao no longer guides these newcomers himself.

Other players have helped Lin Chao take on this role.

Today's Iron Stone City feels like a paradise on the Continent.

Of course, because Lin Chao is currently keeping a low profile, and with the recent fall of gods to the mortal realm, few people have cast their gaze upon this small city.

Of course, merchants are the exception.

Nowadays, merchant caravans from nearby cities and even other kingdoms come to Iron Stone City to trade.

Lin Chao is flipping through a book, reading an introduction to a god.

This god is named the God of the White Wolf.

This is the god of the werewolves.

"The night of the full moon is the strongest moment for the God of the White Wolf.

This werewolf god likes to devour human skulls, especially... those of young children.

Therefore, on the eve of every full moon, many werewolf armies head to human villages and towns to abduct residents."

As Lin Chao reads this, a cold look flashes in his eyes.

Although he is already a god, he still stands more from the perspective of a human.

The reason he is reading the introduction to this god is that this god has very likely also fallen to the Continent, and is not far from Iron Stone City, located right on the territory of the former Kunan Orc Tribe.

A few months ago, the Arcane Empire was destroyed, and a group of werewolves went to the territory of the Kunan Orc Tribe; now, that place is occupied by werewolves.

These werewolves had previously even made sporadic incursions into the sphere of influence of Iron Stone City to capture laborers.

However, the number of players in Iron Stone City is too high, and those werewolves were all farmed as wild monsters.

Now, the werewolf forces in the Kunan Orc Tribe seem to have greatly increased; according to the information Lin Chao received, many werewolves are rushing toward the Kunan Orc Tribe, seemingly on a pilgrimage.

Lin Chao has already dispatched people to investigate.

A large number of werewolves are gathering at the Kunan Orc Tribe.

That place, having just experienced war not long ago, is very barren.

It might pose a threat to Iron Stone City.

Lin Chao naturally has to be on guard.

Especially since the God of Werewolves might also be there.

Although Lin Chao is strong, the opponent is a god after all, and they might have helpers, so he must be on guard.

"The God of Werewolves has a good relationship with the God of the Starry Night, and the God of the Starry Night should be in the camp of the Lady of the Night, so that means..."

Based on the information in the book, Lin Chao deduces that the God of Werewolves should belong to the camp of the Lady of the Night.

The Lady of the Night is one of the Four Great Sovereigns.

This deity is extremely mysterious.

Rumor has it that no god knows the true origin of the Lady of the Night.

There are also rumors that the Lady of the Night is the daughter of the Father God.

And the Father God, in Mythical records, is the creator of this world.

This deity opened up the heavens and the earth, creating humans, elves, orcs, gnomes, plants, and other living beings.

To provide a habitat for these living beings, this Father God created the God Continent with his own divine body.

This Mythical record is very similar to the Pangu opening up the heavens and the earth that Lin Chao knew in the past; he does not know if there is any connection.

Of course, the two might have no connection at all and it is just a coincidence.

"Once the situation at the Kunan Orc Tribe is investigated, we must strike." Lin Chao is not a person who sits and waits for death, nor will he wait for the opponent to attack him before he fights back.

He is very proactive when dealing with enemies.

"Your Highness."

A pleasant female voice comes, and Lin Chao looks up to see Shivana approaching gracefully.

She is dressed in a long gown with a ribbon tied around her waist, changing her usual temperament and looking quite like a court noblewoman.

However, between her brows, there is none of that ripe, mature charm seen in the eyes of those court noblewomen.

A look of appreciation appears in Lin Chao's eyes.

"Tomorrow is Your Highness's coming-of-age ceremony; here is the procedure for the ceremony, please take a look, Your Highness." Shivana hands the schedule to Lin Chao.

"Good." Lin Chao glances at it casually; the schedule is no different from what he understands.

The coming-of-age ceremony for Ordinary people might not even exist, at most just an extra egg or a bite of white bread.

The coming-of-age ceremony for nobles is very complex, and as Lin Chao is a prince, it is also very complex.

Although he has already had people simplify the process, it still looks very elaborate.

"At the coming-of-age ceremony, the final dance requires the Prince and the newly appointed Princess to dance together.

However... Your Highness's fiancée has still not appeared." As Shivana says this, she lowers her head, making it impossible to see the expression on her face.

"Can it be cancelled?" Lin Chao does not know who his fiancée is, nor does he care who it is.

"This... is not possible." Shivana says with some difficulty, "This step is quite important."

"Hmm." Lin Chao ponders; he still does not want to expose his identity as a god, so everything must proceed according to the process.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Chao said, "You may arrange a dance partner for me as you please."

"Does His Highness have any requirements?" Shivana did not know why, but she felt a sense of loss in her heart.

Moonlight slanted down from the window, spilling onto Shivana's face; in her formal attire, she appeared quite charming, yet also possessed a sense of cold isolation.

"Shivana, do you have time tomorrow? Have you already decided on your dance partner?" Lin Chao was lost in thought, and finally spoke.

Shivana was stunned, followed by a surge of intense joy: "I have... time, and I do not have a dance partner yet."

Shivana's heart was thumping.

As a High-level Professional, it was very rare for her to be unable to control her emotions and have her heart beat so fast.

"Might I have the honor of inviting this beautiful lady before me to be my dance partner tomorrow?" Lin Chao said softly.

"I... am willing." Shivana's face turned red in an instant.

Lin Chao's coming-of-age ceremony could be said to be the biggest festival in Iron Stone City.

The players even received some small rewards.

Most of the residents of Iron Stone City could go to the street outside the City Hall to receive some small gifts, such as rice.

Those who generally came to collect this rice were refugees who had newly joined Iron Stone City.

They took the rice, their eyes filled with gratitude: "Blessings to His Highness the Prince!"

"His Highness the Prince is the Sun in the sky."

These impoverished people were not stingy with their words of praise.

At this time, a group of nobles looked at the Commoners receiving food, expressions of emotion appearing in their eyes.

Viscount Fengming puffed out his large belly, also dressed in fine clothing: "His Highness's heart is too kind, which is why he has created such... a prosperous city.

I can foresee that in less than twenty years, the prosperity of Iron Stone City will surely be the greatest in the God Continent, surpassing even the capital of the Bauhinia Empire."

Count Kaixiu laughed: "Viscount Fengming, I remember that a year ago, you still said... kindness is the most useless of beautiful virtues."

"That was weak kindness; His Highness is different, His Highness possesses the kindness of one who holds power," Viscount Fengming argued, "Moreover, although His Highness is kind-hearted, he is decisive in his actions, and he never lets those who deserve to die off."

In the original Koya City, apart from the few noble families willing to move to Iron Stone City, the other nobles were not only unwilling to move, but also collaborated with Knight Commander Lei Wu of the Light Temple to strike at Iron Stone City.

Toward those enemies, His Highness the Prince showed no mercy.

Those who deserved to die were killed.

"Who could have imagined that today is only His Highness's coming-of-age ceremony.

It is a pity that my status is low; otherwise, I would certainly have the female descendants of my family marry His Highness." Count Kaixiu's face was brimming with smiles.

His family had moved into Iron Stone City, although they had abandoned many of their previous interests.

However, he had gained much more in Iron Stone City, especially a while ago when Iron Stone City opened up trade with the Abyss, and Count Kaixiu had made a fortune.

This made him very happy.

After all, he was only a Count.

Factions capable of doing business with the Abyss were at least Grand Dukes, and even many kings of various countries did not have such an opportunity.

But he had it, and all of this was bestowed by His Highness Prince Lin.

Toward Prince Lin, Count Kaixiu was even more loyal.

"Let's go, enter the Palace and attend His Highness's coming-of-age ceremony." Count Kaixiu waved his hand, and a group of nobles walked slowly toward the Palace ahead.

His Highness the Prince's coming-of-age ceremony was held right inside the Palace.

Almost all the nobles of Koya City attended this coming-of-age ceremony, and among the players, quite a few veterans also entered the Palace to attend.

Of course, there were also nobles from nearby cities who came to attend.

These nobles all had some trade exchanges with Iron Stone City.

Therefore, they naturally came.

Six hours had passed since the start of the coming-of-age ceremony.

Hanshe, the son of a Count from Pingkang City, and his subordinates were sitting around a table, eating slowly.

Hanshe's eyes also appeared to carry a smile, but deep within his eyes lay deep worry.

"This Iron Stone City... is far more prosperous and flourishing than imagined.

Moreover... the Guard Team here is very strong; our Pingkang City could not possibly be a match for Iron Stone City."

The elderly steward beside him also nodded and said in a low voice: "Our Pingkang City is indeed no match for Iron Stone City, but... the Second Mistress..."

Mentioning the Second Mistress, the elderly steward's eyes were filled with fear.

A trace of killing intent also rose in Hanshe's eyes.

Hanshe's father was a Count and the actual controller of Pingkang City.

As a noble, his father was fond of female beauty and took in many beauties.

At first, he was somewhat restrained and would only collect human beauties.

Such as the daughters of fallen Grand Dukes, descendants of the Royal Family, female rangers, female police officers, female Assistants, and female clerics.

Later, his father's tastes gradually became picky, and he grew fond of female beastmen.

In Hanshe's home, there were quite a few female beastmen taken into his father's chambers.

However, a coup recently occurred in Hanshe's home.

A werewolf maid favored by his father had actually led a group of powerful werewolves to seize control of Hanshe's father and the family.

It could be said that Pingkang City had now fallen under the actual control of werewolves.

This time, the Second Mistress, that is, the werewolf maid, had dispatched him to Iron Stone City to take the opportunity of attending Prince Lin's coming-of-age ceremony to scout out the defensive strength of Iron Stone City.

Hanshe knew that the Second Mistress intended to make a move against Iron Stone City.

Hanshe was now, it could be said, extremely worried.

He certainly did not want to be a puppet for the werewolves.

However, his parents and family were all under the control of the Second Madam.

Even his own body had been implanted with werewolf poison.

Now, having arrived at Iron Stone City and witnessed the power of Iron Stone City, Hanshe was considering whether to use the power of Iron Stone City to deal with the Second Madam.

But... this carried extreme risks.

A slight carelessness would lead to being smashed to pieces, causing irreparable losses.

Hanshe drank his wine in gloom, appearing completely out of place in this joyful atmosphere.

At the same time, the coming-of-age ceremony for Lin Chao was also nearing its end.

The final step of the coming-of-age ceremony was the dance party.

At this time, all the young noble men and women would dance on the dance floor as a way to socialize.

Many players participated in this activity; although there was a language barrier, many noble daughters were quite fond of those players.

After all, those players were all confidants of Prince Lin, and their strength was very formidable.

Formidable adventurers were also highly sought after by nobles and were worth investing in.

The plain-looking Shouhou received the favor of a Viscount's daughter, who invited him onto the dance floor to dance.

Seeing the beautiful noble woman, Shouhou naturally did not refuse; he was very reserved at first, not daring to hold her too tightly for fear of being accused of molestation.

After all, in reality, he had to keep his distance from women.

With his looks, if he dared to play on his phone behind certain women, there was a high probability he would be caught and accused of voyeurism or lewd staring.

As it turned out, that noble woman was much bolder than him; her ample bosom pressed directly against Shouhou, making it hard for him to keep his composure, leaving him spellbound, and before he knew it, the noble woman had left her home address with Shouhou.

For Shouhou, this was extremely thrilling.

Nowadays, as the number of players grew, many players had developed deep feelings for this game.

There were also many players who, perhaps to escape reality, hoped to stay in the game for a long time.

There were also many players who had started romantic relationships with women in the game.

The affair between Heiniu and Norma was also continuing.

Of course, there were also many scumbags, and many players had been set up by the native Immortals of the Continent.

At this moment, in the corner of the dance hall, Lin Chao was holding Shivana by her slender waist.

It had to be said that although Lin Chao had experienced many lives, this was his first time dancing properly.

Shivana had a tall figure, over one meter seventy, and wearing a form-fitting long dress made her figure appear even more graceful. She held Lin Chao, a hint of redness appearing by her ears.

However, her movements were somewhat stiff.

Lin Chao also held Shivana, feeling the warmth of her body and catching a faint, natural feminine scent.

This fragrance was not the smell of perfume.

"Is His Highness dancing for the first time?" Shivana was a bit nervous and changed the subject to ease her tension.

"Yes."

"Me too." A trace of joy welled up in Shivana's heart.

"It is easy to tell; as a High-level Professional, stepping on my feet seven times in ten minutes is quite an achievement." Lin Chao's mood also relaxed for once.

Shivana's face turned red instantly.

Amidst the soothing music, he held Shivana, enjoying the peace and beauty of the passing time.

Because he knew that there might not be so many peaceful moments in the future.

Shivana's movements were also very gentle; she looked at Lin Chao, not knowing what she was thinking.

Perhaps, she wanted time to pass more slowly.

(End of this chapter)