34 Monster Lord

Inside a luxurious castle room in Kingdom Escalante, all the big shots from every kingdom in the East Continent made their presence known for an important discussion.

The room was spacious and filled with multiple floating projections of different sizes. A handsome man with golden hair, who appeared to be in his late thirties, sat on a sofa in the middle of the room, wearing a serious expression. It was Cedric Von Ainsworth, the King of Kingdom Escalante.

Seated on his left was another middle-aged man, Valenza, while another man named Evan occupied the space on his right.

They were his two trusted aids, the powerful Dukes of Kingdom Escalante. In each kingdom, the nobles held titles and wielded significant influence. The hierarchy included the King/Queen, Duke/Duchess, Marquess/Marchioness, Count/Countess, Viscount/Viscountess, and Baron/Baroness.

The silence was abruptly broken by a resonant voice emanating from one of the largest projections hovering in the room.

"It's just as we expected."

The projection showed an old man in white clothes, sitting cross-legged on top of a tree. The old man sighed with a complicated expression.

If Vice Principal George had seen the old man, he would have immediately recognized him. The old man was none other than the Principal of the Royal Academy, who had departed a few months ago without saying a word.

The moment news about the monsters' unusual activity near the borders reached the principal, he didn't waste any time. He immediately left the Kingdom and headed straight for the dark forest. And, just as everyone had feared, he discovered undeniable evidence of a monster lord being born in the depths of the dark forest.

The principal let out a sigh.

"The last time a monster lord emerged and attacked the Blue Planet civilization, an entire continent was destroyed. In the end, all the other continents united their forces to defeat the monster lord."

Upon hearing his words, a passionate discussion erupted in the room. The individuals appearing on the projections were kings from various kingdoms, each expressing their concerns.

If a monster lord truly appeared, the East Continent, being the closest to the dark forest, would be its primary target. And based on historical records, the destruction caused by a monster lord was beyond their meager power to stop.

The East Continent has a total of five kingdoms. Among these five kingdoms, Kingdom Escalante stands out as one of the largest and wealthiest due to its thriving economy.

Currently, the most powerful individual within the East Continent was the Principal of the Royal Academy. He had achieved the remarkable feat of reaching (SSS)-Rank a few years ago.

Regardless, everyone in the room knew that, except for the Central Continent which belonged to humans, they couldn't rely on any other continent due to the worsening relationship between humans and other races in recent years.

King Cedric, too, wore a somber expression upon hearing the principal's words, but he remained calm as he spoke.

"How much time do we have?"

His words hit like a thunderstorm, causing everyone to fall silent, eagerly awaiting the principal's response.

The principal, sitting atop a tree trunk, gazed at the sky with a serious expression.

"The maximum time we have is 8 years, but if it decides to attack early, there's a chance it could be even less than 6 years."

The room was filled with a heavy silence. They all understood that this was a critical moment, where they had to utilize every resource they had, or else destruction would be their only fate.

King Foraan from Kingdom Whiteland broke the silence, addressing another urgent matter that had been overshadowed by the sudden news.

"The gates of the 'Tower of Opportunity' are soon to open. We must start selecting young talents, so they can grow strong in the tower. After all, they will be the future of our Continent."

As he finished speaking, a figure clad in dark attire on one of the projections directed his intense gaze at King Cedric and King Foraan before uttering his words.

"You're right, Foraan. I heard that two individuals with (SSS+)-Rank talent recently emerged. One is studying at the Royal Academy, while the other is being nurtured in Kingdom Whiteland."

"Even Prince Carcel, the second son of King Cedric, awakened an (SSS-)-Rank talent. If my daughter wasn't studying at the Royal Academy, I would have never known about this."

Upon hearing the news that two individuals with (SSS+)-Rank talent appeared in the neighboring kingdom, everyone present gasped in shock. They had no idea about this!

King Cedric frowned upon hearing the man in dark clothes, realizing that he had forgotten about everything else due to recent events.

"It's not like I was trying to hide it. I just found out through George that a commoner named Alec awakened an (SSS+)-Rank talent. And as for Carcel, not to mention me, he didn't even inform his mother about his talent, that he had a talent greater than his brother."

King Foraan nodded solemnly, also sharing his own revelation.

"In my Kingdom, a person named Jian, who is a distant relative of mine, awakened an (SSS+)-Rank talent. It was a surprise for me as well to discover this."

The topic of discussion in the room shifted. Everyone was initially shocked, but then they expressed happiness. If they had known about the neighboring kingdom having someone with (SSS+)-Rank talent before the news of the monster lord, they would have either tried to eliminate that person or recruited them to their side.

However, the current situation was dire. Everyone understood that if they didn't come together, forget about stealing talents, they wouldn't even survive to see the next morning.

The discussion continued for a few more hours until the projections started disappearing, leaving only the principal's projection behind.

The principal looked at King Cedric with knitted brows.

"Why did you invite that dark mage? I wanted to keep the news about Alec and Carcel hidden for a while."

"Sigh... Now everyone knows."

King Cedric smiled, observing the old man grumbling like a child.

"Don't worry, now is not the time to hide. Let's just start preparing for the Tower of Opportunity."

The principal let out another sigh before reluctantly nodding. The Tower of Opportunity was a matter of utmost importance, especially considering the impending doom that awaited them.

Each Continent had a similar tower, created by the ancestors of the blue planet for the younger generation.

These towers opened once every 20 years, and the number of entries was limited. That's why each kingdom could only send 100 individuals.

....

Meanwhile, as usual, Kyle entered the classroom with a lazy expression, walking towards the front seats and sitting down.

The seat beside him was empty, it seems today he was earlier than Nine. Not just Nine, even Alec's group wasn't present yet, as there were still fifteen minutes left before the class started.

Kyle yawned and put his head on the table. He was planning to sleep for a while because waiting for the lecture to start was quite boring. But his sleep was interrupted by a panicked voice.

"Kyle?"

He frowned and looked at Nine, who was panting heavily, looking like he had just run a marathon. He stood up and hurriedly walked towards Nine.

"Calm down, what happened?"

After catching his breath, Nine looked at Kyle with a serious expression.

"I have bad news for you."

Kyle's frown deepened. Since the morning, he had a nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen. Now, hearing Nine's words, he started to panic a little.

Nine looked at Kyle, hesitating if he should tell him. But he knew he had to share everything because if not, Kyle would find out from someone else.