1291-1296

Chapter 1291: Omen of Invasion

The world was changing.

Sergio exhaled, gripped his spear, and stomped his foot. Three months ago, he was just an ordinary militiaman. But now, he had been sent to a deserted and godforsaken place to patrol this boring area everyday. He didn't know what they were guarding. But he knew that the world was changing and becoming more unfamiliar each day. He heard news about the five Creator Dragons forming an alliance and working hard to change the destiny of this world. However...

What does that have to do with me?

Grabbing the spear, Sergio let out a helpless sigh. He was just an ordinary man who wished to find a quiet place to lead the rest of his life. The big shots often loved to come up with bothersome orders. Sergio used to live in a peaceful life in the village, but had to relocate his family just because the big shots said so. Without a choice, they left the village they had lived for a long time, arriving at this godforsaken place that was miles away. Not only that, but he had also been drafted into the army and had to patrol the area daily.

Wasn't it said that a peace agreement was concluded between the five Creator Dragons? In that case, there shouldn't be any more enemies around. So what exactly am I doing this for? What is the point of standing here in the chilly winds inside this simple and crude sentry post?

Forget it. It isn't something people like me should know, anyway.

At this thought, Sergio curled his lips and turned to the town in the distance. As night fell, lamps lit up in the town one after another. No matter what the five Creator Dragons were plotting, he still had to continue living his life. As long as he stood at this sentry post, everything would turn out fine. But come to think of it, during this period, a group of strange adventurers had arrived in the town and gave him a headache. Although there weren't many of them, they made terrible rackets and also spoke in a foreign language, troubling the nearby townsmen. Sergio wondered where the adventurers came from. They behaved like mercenaries, asking anyone they met for quests for them to accomplish. However, Sergio had to admit that they were really strong. As a member of the patrol team, Sergio once joined the capture of nearby monsters. In the face of several enormous monsters, the patrols had to act cautiously. On the contrary, the adventurers merely sent out a young lady who waved her arm and annihilated them in the blink of an eye. Sergio still remembered that scene clearly in his mind. The instant the young lady made her move, the ground beneath him trembled as though the world were coming to an end. Even if Sergio was uninformed, he could see that the adventurers weren't an ordinary bunch. But now...

What exactly are they doing here?

Forget it. It has nothing to do with me.

Sergio shifted his gaze away from the town. At that moment, the adventurers must be performing amusing yet mysterious magical spells for the townsmen. He had to admit that the adventurers were truly impressive and a somewhat interesting bunch... But now, he just wanted to lead a normal life. He had made up his mind to propose to Irina after this trouble ended.

After wandering around on my own for so many years, it's about time to settle down...

"Hmm?"

At that moment, he realized that his hound, which was traveling around him, had come to a sudden halt. Not only that, but it also stopped over, widened its round eyes, and stared vigilantly at the night sky. Deep growls escaped its throat from time to time as though it spotted a terrifying and dangerous predator.

What's wrong?

Upon witnessing its behavior, Sergio raised his guard instantly. He grabbed the leash on his hound and stared at the darkness with widened eyes. The hazy moonlight illuminated the forest before him and pitch-black shadows swayed in the gentle breeze. At a glance, it made him feel really weird. But to a patrol who was on regular night watch, that wasn't the only thing Sergio spotted. Instead... Something that shouldn't be there was also lurking in the shadows.

"W-What is... That..."

One, two, three...

Scarlet lights glowed in the darkness, lined up in rows. It looked as though the shadows were given lives as they opened their innumerable eyes. The instant Sergio looked at the scarlet flashes, his hair stood on end. At the same time, the hound beside him was so terrified that it couldn't let out a growl. It tucked its tail, curled up on the ground, and couldn't budge as though it were shivering in the face of a menacing lion.

Move! Damn it! Hurry up!

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Sergio stared blankly. He felt as though he were literally frozen to the spot and couldn't shift at all. Under the moonlight, he clearly witnessed what those mysterious creatures were. Their tall, burly bodies were constructed entirely of pure steel and encased in an odd suit of armor, seemingly like a creature a mix of steel and human. And on their faces, Sergio noticed a round, scarlet eyeball swirling within the gap of the helmet. Then, the eyes stopped moving all of a sudden, locking onto Sergio.

Oh my goodness!

Just being stared at by those scarlet eyes almost made Sergio go crazy with fear. He tried to reach out for his whistle to sound the warning, but extreme fear had taken control over his body. He could only stand blankly on the spot and watch as hundreds upon thousands of steel troops marched toward him. Sergio knew their goal without even thinking. Apart from the town, there was nothing else here. And these creatures definitely didn't arrive here for a tea session...

Move! Goddammit!

Although Sergio yelled in his head, his body just couldn't move. He used all his strength to shift his arm, but his body was out of his control. Not only that, but he also shuddered inexorably out of extreme terror. The young guard gnashed his teeth, large beads of sweat emerging over his forehead. He wanted to survive. But he also knew he couldn't escape death.

No...

"Woof! Woof!"

At that moment, the hound couldn't hold on any longer. It howled, turned around, and dashed toward the back as quickly as possible. The moment the hound broke free, Sergio also regained control over his stiffened body, just like how all living creatures retaliated desperately in the face of death falling upon them. For a moment, he looked at the steel creatures before him and calmed down instead. In an instant, he reached for the whistle in his pocket and put it between his lips...

"———!"

The sharp, warning signal reverberated in the silent night sky. Almost at the same time, the steel creatures who were marching ahead came to a standstill all of a sudden. Then, they turned around abruptly with countless scarlet eyes staring straight at the young, helpless guard.

"I'm dead!"

Staring at the terrifying steel creatures in despair, Sergio's heart sank. He knew he couldn't go up against them. As a matter of fact, at that moment, he still didn't know what they were. All he knew was that he was doomed! At that moment, he saw one of the steel creatures raise its right arm, which resembled a cannon barrel. Shortly after, a dazzling brilliance flashed. The blazing heat and explosion shrouded him completely.

"Huh?"

But to his astonishment, the lethal attack that was definitely enough to blast him into powder was resisted by a golden barrier that enfolded him. Dazzling flashes and scorching flames erupted and rolled, but couldn't overwhelm the golden barrier. Shortly after, from the corner of Sergio's eyes, a dozen figures appeared beside him all of a sudden.

"I didn't expect an NPC to put up such a fight. I only just realized the presence of these bast*rds, and they are already starting their ambush? When did those Chaos creatures learn this move?"

"Cut the crap. If it weren't for you being greedy and narrowing the alert perimeter, would we even fall to the point we were almost attacked by them? If others were to know about this, they would surely laugh their heads off! Come on, get ready. Activate your buffs and finish them!"

"Oh, crap. What in the world are they? Did Leader trick us? We are here to deal with Chaos creatures, but why are we taking on Zakus[1] and Megatrons[2] instead?!"

"No matter what they are, Leader has already given the command. As long as they come from outside the Order barrier, we will spare none!"

"This is..."

Sergio stared blankly at the crowd. Judging from their bizarre outfits, Sergio recognized them as the adventurers who came to his town. But now, they kept their smiles and seemed much more serious. Sergio watched as they raised their arms and...

A blinding array of magical radiances linked up as one.

This was a view that never existed even in Sergio's wildest dreams. As the adventurers lifted their arms, mysterious, intricate, and gorgeous magical rituals emanated beneath their feet one after another. Shortly after, lightning splashed in all directions like rolling waves that engulfed the steel creatures. The steel creature instantly came to a standstill. Their massive bodies that were two to three meters tall shook inexorably and couldn't resist the deadly attack. A wave of lightning flashed by, but before the steel creatures reacted, yet another whistling wind blew past. Sergio subconsciously lifted his head to look at the sky. Then, he widened his eyes in shock.

Dozens of large meteors burning in green flames penetrated the thick layer of clouds and smashed onto the ground. The land trembled and ruptured. Sergio lost his balance and flopped down on his bottom. He stared at the battlefield dazedly. The erupted green flames and shock waves from the explosions devoured the steel creatures. The barren plain had been demolished right before his eyes!

But this wasn't the end yet!

Along with furious snarls, the steel creatures emerged from the conflagration. Even though they suffered gravely in this attack, those creatures of steel were completely fearless. They raised their arms and emitted scorching, powerful light beams that whistled toward the adventurers ahead. Not only that, but some of the wrecked steel creatures also raised their swords, charged through the flames, and pounced on the humans.

"Roar———!"

But it was a pity that before the steel creatures displayed their might, their true enemy bellowed and showed up before everyone. Green flames surged skyward and a gigantic, human-shaped creature consisting of blazing green flames and stones strode out. With a roar of rage that sent shivers down one's spine, it swung its arms with force at the tiny steel creatures before it.

This is like a nightmare.

Sergio sat on the ground and watched the battlefield enveloped in billows of smoke and blazing flames. One after another, an endless stream of creatures several meters tall walked out of the darkness. Their lower bodies were that of terrifying scorpions and spiders. If it were Sergio taking them on, perhaps he couldn't even defeat one of them. On the other hand, the adventurers weren't afraid at all, even in the face of enemies dozens of times their size. Sergio observed the adventurers raising their arms and reciting an ancient incantation. Shortly after, another enormous creature like the giant creature burning in flames appeared in a tornado, roaring and clashing into the army of steel creatures. The knights emanating a golden brilliance from head to toe lifted their swords and charged into the battlefield like streaks of meteor, slashing the steel creatures into halves. Screams, explosions, and snarls filled the sky from time to time, enfolding the entire chaotic battleground. Thunder rumbled, while snow fluttered. Blazing flames and the ruptured land intertwined into a scenery like the end of the world.

Looking at this scene, Sergio felt his entire body shaking.

Are those the enemies they're facing?

"Chaos has begun their attacks."

Rhode leaned on the chair, crossed his arms, and narrowed his eyes at the crowd before him. A few moments ago, he received news that almost all the critical defensive borders were under attack by Chaos creatures. But fortunately, as he was well prepared, most of them were stopped. Besides...

"Chaos didn't break through the Order barrier, but deployed the method of teleporting their troops over. Seems like they are just probing and harassing. Not really attacking yet."

Rhode said, coming to a pause and looking at the other four around him. Upon detecting his gaze, Siena nodded slightly.

"That's right. Chaos is sending in troops to harass us through unstable boundaries. If they truly intend to go all-out, their attack couldn't possibly be to only this extent."

"Yes. But we can't let our guard down either. After all, no one knows what is going through their heads. Besides..." Rhode paused. According to news from the front, this time, Chaos didn't send out ordinary Chaos creatures, but steel creatures instead. Rhode wasn't unfamiliar with them as he encountered them in the Darkness Capital earlier. But back then, the enemies were a mixture of undead creatures and steel. And now, they seemed like products of living creatures and steel instead. The Darkness Capital was entirely devoured by the void storm, so logically speaking, nothing should be left behind. And now it seemed like... the mutated Chaos from Earth didn't seem to be letting up at all. "... It seems like they have an ulterior motive. We need to be on high alert. This is a critical period for our plan. I don't wish to face any unnecessary problems."

Rhode said and couldn't help but knit his brows. He expected Chaos to attack, but was surprised that it came so soon. Although he had already gotten his hands on the Book of Life and Book of Death, the most crucial Book of Elements was still nowhere to be found. There also wasn't any good news from Nell and the Queen Elf. Meanwhile, Lapis also couldn't find many records about the Book of Elements. This left Rhode depressed. Even though he had gotten Alice to use the 'Historical Tracing' ability to search for the Book of Elements's whereabouts, she didn't find any results. It seemed like the Book of Elements was like the Book of Life, hidden somewhere outside of the main plane of existence, and even Alice couldn't locate it using her ability. And now, Rhode also didn't have any other solution. He initially hoped to retrieve the Book of Elements before the war against Chaos commenced. But it seemed like he had to redeploy his resources.

"Don't worry, Rhode. We will do our part."

Detecting Rhode's gaze, Erin smiled and responded. Upon hearing her answer, Rhode nodded and turned to the other side, where a young lady who shouldn't be here for this solemn occasion sat on the seat of the Light Dragon.

"I will keep an eye on the Country of Light, Your Majesty Rhode."

Facing Rhode's gaze, Lydia stood up and answered.

[1] A fictional line of manned robots from Mobile Suit Gundam.

[2] A character from the Transformers franchise.

Chapter 1292: Whereabouts of the Book of Elements

"Your Majesty Rhode."

After the meeting ended, Lydia walked up to Rhode and gave him a dubious look.

"Regarding that matter..."

"Don't ask me. I don't know what's going through Lilian's head either."

Facing Lydia's question, Rhode spread his arms apart and looked at her helplessly. As a matter of fact, even Rhode was bewildered, not to mention Lydia. He didn't know what Lilian comprehended during her ritual with the Light Goddess. All in all, after the 'excursion' ended and the group returned to Grandia, Lilian called Lydia over and granted her dominion over the entire Country of Light in front of everyone. Meanwhile, Lilian took a back seat and stopped involving herself with the crucial affairs. This sudden change in her gave Lydia a huge fright. Not only that, but Rhode was also stunned. He wondered what was wrong with Lilian. Moreover, he realized that Lilian had also changed a lot. If she was a muddlehead in the past, now she seemed enlightened after speaking to the Light Goddess. This comforted Rhode to a certain degree.

After all, Lilian had powers; it was just that she was overly cautious and often made others worry about her. Rhode initially thought that Lilian would be motivated and strongly determined to succeed after the ritual. But in the end, she actually called quits?! Could be it that she was traumatized by the Light Goddess saying she wasn't fit to be the Light Dragon, which was why she abandoned herself to despair? But judging from her 'extremely positive' attitude, it didn't seem to have anything to do with abandoning herself at all.

But it actually wasn't that right to say that she called quits. Because Rhode spoke to Lilian afterward and found out that she didn't abandon her duties completely. Instead, she only gave up her authority to 'rule the Country of Light' and chose to follow Rhode as a sidekick. According to her, she wanted to be like Christie and Lesa, helping Rhode resist the attack of Chaos.

It wasn't that bad to learn from Christie. But from Lesa... She could forget about it.

To put it politely, Lilian was like a goddess-like being who hid behind the scenes in animated films, where unless her world was in a life or death situation, she wouldn't show up to guide the brave to victory. But why did it not sound too right putting it this way?

No matter what, Lydia had replaced Lilian in becoming the ruler of the Country of Light in this inexplicable situation. Even though Lydia rejected instinctively, Lilian opposed with an unprecedented forcefulness. As a result, the archangel could only obey Lilian's order. Judging from a certain angle, Lydia was also caught in a complicated mood. She always hoped that Lilian could get rid of the shackles that were tying her down and be brave enough to make her own decisions. And now, Lilian had done it. But as for the decision itself... It was rather intriguing.

"Frankly, I can't figure out what Her Majesty Lilian is thinking..."

Lydia held her forehead and revealed an anxious and exhausted expression. She couldn't be blamed. By becoming the true ruler of the Country of Light, not only did she need to watch over her personal fief, but she also needed to be responsible for the entire Country of Light. The Country of Light suffered gravely after experiencing the war between the Country of Darkness and Void Territory. People were exhausted and tormented by constant warfare and deaths, so they only hoped to lead ordinary and peaceful lives and couldn't care less about who was becoming the new ruler. Even if a demon were to take over the position, as long as the demon didn't stir any trouble, the people would probably still serve with all their hearts.

Under such circumstances, there actually weren't many challenges for Lydia to take over the Country of Light. Although some people expressed their displeasure, Lydia was an outstanding and powerful ruler, after all. As a matter of fact, while she ruled the Munn Kingdom, she had an easy time wiping out the Reformist Party twice. But... As her workload increased, she also started having some complaints. Even though she was a smart ruler, it had nothing to do with doing her best and dying her last. Well, she was a hedonist, after all.

But unfortunately, the situation was so crisis-ridden that even Lydia didn't dare to sit back and watch the show as leisurely as she did before. She handled everything herself and that was what made her somewhat frustrated. She was also thankful that Sonia was there to help organize the affairs at hand when Lydia took over the Country of Light. Otherwise, the early stages would have been a huge mess.

No matter what, Lydia had no choice now.

"In this case, it seems like I can only brace myself for it. I hope this matter comes to an end soon..."

Lydia was also aware that Rhode most likely couldn't offer any help, and that left her somewhat helpless. In all honesty, Lydia wasn't interested in this role in the slightest. If not, she would have manipulated Lilian as a puppet that this strength of hers, sent out troops to demolish the Light Parliament, and dominate the entire Country of Light. But now, Lilian pushed all the power and responsibility to Lydia and happily went to the back to be a puppet herself.

"How is Her Majesty Lilian?"

"She's fine."

Recalling Lilian's recent behavior, Rhode forced a helpless smile. During this time, Lillian began to learn how to fight with Christie and the others. Rhode had to admit that Lilian was indeed talented on the battlefield. Even though he didn't know how she would perform in real battles, according to Canary and Marybelle who trained them, Lilian's abilities in battle were improving steadily. At the very least, she wouldn't accidentally be bitten by Chaos again like in the past.

"I see... No matter what, Her Majesty Lilian has finally found her direction. I should congratulate her."

Although Lydia's expression didn't seem anywhere like she was "congratulating" Lillian at all, it didn't stop the archangel from helplessly uttering those routine words as if reading a line. But Rhode didn't see anything wrong with her reaction. As a matter of fact, Lydia indeed had the rights to grumble.

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Chaos's attacks were starting to become more frequent.

At first, they only attacked sporadically, but as time went on, more and more Chaos creatures crossed the blurred and distorted borders of Order and entered the Dragon Soul Continent. Although Rhode had dispatched 30,000 of his elite players to blockade most of the area, Chaos's attacks still weren't restrained entirely. Numbers were their best weapon. Even after the people destroyed as many Chaos creatures as they could, there were still countless more lining up as reinforcements. And since there was no such thing as death for them, it was hard for the concept of 'collapse' to show up amongst Chaos. The people could either wipe them all out or be all wiped out by them, which was the difficult situation that they were facing right now.

And what gave Rhode a headache was that even though so many days had passed, the Book of Elements was still nowhere to be found.

Without the Book of Elements, it would be impossible to awaken the last three holy sword spirits. And there would be no way to create something strong enough to protect the borders of the Dragon Soul Continent. The only thing they could do was to engage in attrition and a to-and-fro tussle. After all, there was only a limited number of people in the Dragon Soul Continent, especially those who were strong enough to take on Chaos.

If Rhode were able to manifest everyone from his guild in the game, he could still withstand Chaos's attack. Unfortunately, even with his power, he could only manifest 30,000 players at the very most. Of course, he could also ask his younger sister for assistance in manifesting more projected players.

However, that wouldn't work because when transmigrating the Dragon Soul Continent to the solar system, one of them had to possess enough power of the Void Dragon to open the plane channel. If both Rhode and his young sister expended their powers now, they wouldn't be able to open the plane channel, not to mention transmigrating the entire Dragon Soul Continent over to the solar system.

But... If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the defensive lines were withdrawn.

"We did the calculations. If we can't find other ways to resist Chaos, I'm afraid in half a month's time, we will need to evacuate the first line of defense."

Upon hearing Marlene's report, Rhode puckered his brows. It seemed like the biggest problem now was finding the Book of Elements.

"No one found the Book of Elements yet?"

Due to the urgency of the matter, Rhode didn't choose to keep it a secret. So even Lydia knew that he was looking for an artifact called the Book of Elements, which was an important part of their resistance against Chaos. But this time, Rhode's luck was really terrible. Although he asked the Queen Elf and Nell for updates several times, neither sides seemed to have much of a clue. But despite that, it wasn't entirely unproductive. When the Queen Elf questioned some of the elven patriarchs about the Book of Elements, she received news that several of the elven patriarchs who were born at the end of the Creation War and survived to the present day had indeed seen the Book of Elements. However, the Book of Elements seemed to have been taken away by other elves thereafter.

When Rhode heard this news, he was naturally overjoyed. He even took Angelina on a trip to the Dark Region himself, and after using all sorts of incomparable violence, he finally managed to pry some information out of the mouths of some dark elves from ancient families. Their ancestors had indeed seen the Book of Elements, but it seemed like it had been taken away before their ancestors left the surface...

Well, the only definitive conclusion Rhode reached was that the Book of Elements had indeed been taken by a group of elves. But unfortunately, this group of elves were neither the elves living on the main plane nor the dark elves hiding underground because of the Creation War. In that case, could the alchemical elves be the culprits?

"Sir Rhode, Sir Rhode! I found my ancestors' records about the Book of Elements!"

Unsure if it was a coincidence or not, along with a cheerful voice, Lapis appeared before Rhode. And when he heard Lapis's remarks, his face lit up as though there were a whole new hope.

"Really, Lapis?"

"That's right, Sir Rhode. According to my ancestors' records, our Behermes Family has indeed seen the Book of Elements!"

"Where is it?!"

"It..."

Facing Rhode's question, Lapis stared blankly, before revealing an odd expression and answering with some hesitation.

"... Is missing..."

"..."

According to Lapis, she did look into the ancestors' records for the Book of Elements. And what thrilled Rhode was that at that time, the Behermes entertained the idea of taking away the Book of Elements. After all, the alchemical elves evolved through modifying themselves, so the power of the Book of Elements was naturally critical to them. But it was just a pity that... When they were about to snatch the Book of Elements, they found that it had already been taken away by other elves.

That other group of elves sure are annoying.

Upon hearing Lapis's report, Rhode was so angry that he swore to find those elves and beat them to death. Fortunately, Lapis's findings weren't exactly all for nothing. According to her, after realizing that the Book of Elements went missing, the Behermians put a lot of effort into reclaiming it, unlike the moon elves and dark elves, sending out men to search for it immediately. After all, the Book of Elements had a considerable impact on their plans as a whole, so they were naturally unwilling to let it fall into the hands of outsiders. In the end, the Behermians caught up with the group of elves, and both sides got into a brutal fight. But the Behermians weren't a race that excelled at fighting, after all. After they were defeated, they could only stand by and watch as the winners held the Book of Elements in hand, open a portal, and leave this world...

Left this world...

In Rhode's opinion, this was one and only, most valuable piece of information from the Behermians about the Book of Elements. Since they failed, it meant that the Book of Elements wasn't destroyed, but had literally 'left this world'. Even though the Behermians were weak in combat, in terms of magical technology, they were somewhat talented. Because they simply looked at the group of elves and knew that they had left this world. So then, where exactly was the Book of Elements brought to?

There were just so many branches of elves in the Dragon Soul Continent. Moon elves on the surface, dark elves in the underground, and Behermians who were nearly extinct.

As for the other elf races other than them, could they be...

At this thought, Rhode's eyes glinted all of a sudden.

If it were as he thought, the true meaning of that sentence recorded by the Behermes ancestors could then be determined.

In other words...

At this thought, Rhode twitched his brows and asked.

"Lapis, are you sure that's what the record says?"

"Yes, Sir Rhode."

Upon hearing his question, Lapis nodded with might.

"That is indeed what was recorded. After the group of elves defeated our Behermes ancestors, they opened the portal and left the world with the Book of Elements."

"... Got it."

Rhode nodded in response, stood up, and walked out of the study. This sudden series of action puzzled Lapis. But she quickly stacked up her documents and followed him out of the study curiously.

Rhode wasn't heading to somewhere faraway. On the contrary, he strolled around Grandia's palace and spotted his target shortly after.

Agatha stood respectfully in the corridor right before him. Even though the current situation was becoming hectic, this ocean elf's expression was still as expressionless as ever. She stood there quietly, doing her chores as though she were a maid. At a glance, one could see several tentacles writhing out of her lower body, rolling up the mop and rag to wipe the corridor carefully. Rhode had to admit that she was really dutiful as an ocean elf, but he felt a little complicated. He always had a feeling that if he asked her the questions he had in mind, he would very likely make a fool out of himself. But now, considering the future of the Dragon Soul Continent and his entire plan, he felt like this little bit of humiliation wasn't a big deal. He coughed awkwardly at the thought of it. And upon hearing his voice, Agatha turned around and gazed at him curiously, while stopping what she was doing respectfully.

"Master, how can I help you?"

"I have something to ask, Agatha. I hope you can give me a clear-cut answer."

"Okay, no problem, Master."

Even though Rhode's voice sounded stern, the ocean elf simply nodded in response without changing her expression. Upon witnessing her expression, Rhode took in a deep breath, stared at her, and asked.

"Do you know where the Book of Elements is right now?"

After hearing his question, Agatha was taken aback. She nodded instantly.

"Of course, Master. As a matter of fact, the Book of Elements is in the water elemental plane right now."

At that very moment, Rhode felt like he was undoubtedly a fool.

Chapter 1293: Elemental Gate

According to Agatha, the Book of Elements was brought into the water elemental plane by a group of elves who opened the elemental gate and fled into the elemental plane a while back (Note: Never expect elemental creatures to have a good sense of time). Back then, when the elemental lords sensed the mighty power of the Book of Elements, they sealed it inside the arctic ice of the water elemental plane in order to prevent its impact on the four elemental planes. This move wasn't too surprising. After all, the fire and wind elemental planes weren't suitable for storing items, so only the earth and water elemental planes were left as their choices. And sealing items was the specialty of the water elemental plane.

As one of the ocean elves, Agatha once spent some time in the water elemental plane and happened to witness the scene where the group of elves from the main plane fled to the elemental plane. And because of that, she knew where the Book of Elements was. Even though it sounded like an understatement, it left Rhode feeling powerless. Although he did consider the possibility that the Book of Elements was in one of the elemental planes, the four elemental planes were huge, after all. If one were to search aimlessly, one wouldn't know when one would finally see results. And since there were definite clues from the elves, Rhode put all his energy into pursuing them. In the end...

He felt like a mule following the carrot dangling before it. He had focused so much on the carrot dangling before him and ignored the fresh, green grass surrounding him.

I'm such a fool...

Although it was humiliating for him, he was shamelessly quick to ignore his foolishness. As long as the result was good, everything was good, wasn't it? And if it weren't for the clues provided by the elves, he wouldn't have thought of the elemental plane so soon.

Seems like I'm still a really smart person. Well, that was just a moment of carelessness and negligence on my part. After all, I've been really busy. Just look at Chaos's attack. I need to take care of matters surrounding the entire Dragon Soul Continent on my own, so it is understandable that some oversights occurred. Isn't there a saying that goes 'it's never too late to mend one's way'? Yes, we must learn from our mistakes. We must learn to learn from our mistakes, experiences, and strive to achieve greater and more ambitious goals... This lesson is painful and the mistakes are profound, but we must not only look to the past, but also to the future....

"... So that's all I have to say. Is there anything else that you want to add?"

Rhode said and caught his breath. Then, he reached for a cup of tea to moisten his throat and turned to the group which looked at him with various expressions. Facing his question, they stared blankly at him and only after a few moments, Mini Bubble Gum let out a sigh.

"Leader, I know people always change. Just look at you... You said a load of crap for an hour without getting to the point. Can't you just tell us the truth? It was actually your foolish self who forgot to ask the inhabitants of the elemental planes and made us bustle about for so long! Aren't you tired of finding excuses for an hour? You're acting just like that fat swine of a principal in my school!"

"..."

Rhode's expression stiffened at Mini Bubble Gum's blunt accusation. Then, he took a deep breath.

"Of course... For this matter... the main responsibility..."

Rhode dragged out his sentence before shooting looks at the two Canarys seated beside him, seeking help from them. But it was a pity that both of them were indifferent. At that moment, they ignored Rhode's call for help entirely.

As a true lover, shouldn't you step up to get me out of this nasty situation? Also, as a qualified subordinate, you should take the initiative to assume responsibility too. It doesn't cost you anything to say "Actually we are also responsible..." or something. This will make me look good and make things easier for me later... Sigh, where's the trust between people at?

"... Falls on..."

After glaring helplessly at the two Canarys, Rhode let out a long sigh and confessed.

"... Me..."

"You see! That's all you've got to say... Have you also been corrupted and degraded by the sugar coating of capitalism? Making a mistake and asking you to write a reflection is like asking you to kill someone...."

"Alright, alright. Let's skip this part for now."

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Facing Mini Bubble Gum's grumbles, Rhode neglected her shamelessly.

Don't be ridiculous. Whether it's leading a guild or starting a harem, how can one do it if one doesn't have thick skin? A he-man should be arrogant, have an indomitable spirit, and not flinch when treated with disdain... This sentence should be appropriate for this situation, right?

With some self-consolation in the mind, Rhode let out a cough. He tried to liven the atmosphere up earlier. But since Mini Bubble Gum had ridiculed him mercilessly, it was time for him to go about his own business. Since he learned the whereabouts of the Book of Elements, the next step was naturally to unlock its seal. But before that, he still had one more important thing to do. And that was to open the Elemental Gate...

The importance of the four elemental planes was self-evident. Back then, when the Creator Dragons made this continent in the first place, this world wouldn't have taken shape without the four main elements. In this respect, the four main elemental planes were even more important than the Seven Fantasy Boundaries. After all, the Seven Fantasy Boundaries were mere existences derived from the four elemental planes. For instance, ocean elves in the Silver Ocean were originally the inhabitants of the water elemental plane.

However, it was much harder getting into the elemental planes than the Seven Fantasy Boundaries. The elemental planes belonged purely to the elemental world, and there was no way for mortals to enter. Although the elemental planes could be said to exist everywhere, it wasn't easy to actually find their entrance. But it wasn't that difficult for players like Rhode; as long as he found four beings with strong elemental powers, used their powers to call upon the rules of elements, and opened the gate, he could enter the elemental world.

Yes, four beings with strong elemental powers... Not only that, but what was most important was that the beings must also be natives. Because natives had the closest connection to the Dragon Soul Continent. In this case, the Phantom Guardians and projected players weren't useful anymore. But fortunately, he didn't lack powerful beings by his side who possessed rules.

Gillian, as the fire elemental lord, was chosen as one of the candidates to open the gate to the elemental world. As for Anne, she was chosen as the representative of the wind element. No matter what, Anne had the blood of an elemental lord cruising throughout her body and her grasp of the wind element was also really skillful. As for the water element, the little mermaid in Rhode's possession was also sufficient to fill in the gaps. If he were to activate the Taboo Halo, the little mermaid's water elemental power would be strong enough to be used to open the gate. And as for the final earth element...

Rhode didn't own any card of the earth attribute and also couldn't remember anyone with that kind of power. But luckily for him, he had a 'godlike' system interface. He tapped open the list of names in his territory and sorted them according to attributes and levels. Shortly after, he found the strongest person with the earth elemental attribute located at the top of the list, except that...

After seeing that name, he realized that he was acting foolishly again. Because not only did he know that person, but he was also really familiar with her...

"Bell?"

Upon hearing Rhode's words, Christie widened her eyes in shock.

"... Rhode... You said... you need Bell's help?"

"Yes."

Upon hearing Christie's question, Rhode showed a bitter smile and nodded. He was well aware of Bell's strength. Back then, it was he who rescued her from the underground refuge and even back then, she possessed strength of the Legendary Stage. Not only that, but she was also an Order beacon... But what caught Rhode by surprise was that this little girl who followed Christie around all the time was actually a dominant being of the earth element. Even though Bell possessed strength of the Legendary Stage, she was too inexperienced and unfit for battle, which was why Rhode left her by Christie's side all the time. She could protect Christie, and Rhode also hoped that Christie could help change Bell's ice-cold appearance and behavior. And from the looks of it, being with Christie had indeed changed Bell a lot. Although she was still as quiet as ever, she seemed to be more emotional and no longer acted like a still object.

"Is it... dangerous?"

"I won't deny that traveling in the elemental plane can be a little dangerous. But don't worry, Christie. We won't be there for long."

In order to retrieve the Book of Elements in the shortest possible time, Rhode decided to travel to the water elemental plane with the four beings. But fortunately, one of the advantages of the elemental plane was that they had little to no passage of time. That was also why elemental creatures had a very vague concept of time. Even if he spent half a month on the elemental plane, it would only be two or three days gone on the main plane. That was also why he chose to travel to the elemental plane with them. But of course, the other reason was that the requirements were very demanding for anyone entering the elemental plane. If he weren't protected by strong elemental powers like Gillian, Anne, the little mermaid, and Bell, the moment he entered the elemental plane, he would be obliterated. But being a Void Dragon, his attribute level was higher than the elements, so there wasn't a need to worry about that aspect.

For Rhode, the process was simple: lead the four of them into the water elemental plane, retrieve the Book of Elements, open the Elemental Gate again to return to the Dragon Soul Continent, and everything would be solved....

Yes, that was all to it, so there shouldn't be any problem!

"Are you willing to come with me, Bell?"

After explaining to Christie the situation, Rhode turned to Bell who remained silent at the side. After hearing his question, Bell hesitated for a few moments, but eventually lifted her head and nodded with might. Although she didn't say a word, she had clearly made her point.

There was no time to lose, and Chaos wouldn't wait for anyone. After receiving Bell's reply, Rhode got to work immediately. The next day, he brought Bell and the rest to the plaza located behind Grandia's palace, where the magical ritual used to open the Elemental Gate was already prepared.

"Be careful, Big Brother. I wish you all the best."

Holding his hands tightly, Rhode's younger sister said in a soft voice. Upon hearing her words, Rhode smiled and nodded in response. But at that moment, Mini Bubble Gum who stood beside them curled her lips, before speaking with a witty smile.

"Sigh, you are a natural born toiler, Leader. Go at ease. There will be no problem leaving this place to me!" With that, Mini Bubble Gum patted her underdeveloped chest and gave him a thumbs up. "There's a saying, Leader; thou shalt not be concerned about thy wife, who shall support herself[1]!"

... Is this saying supposed to be used in this place?

Upon hearing Mini Bubble Gum's remarks, Rhode twitched the corner of his eye. Shortly after, he pounded that little rascal's head with his iron fist.

If you want to show off your knowledge in ancient texts, go back and understand its meaning first!

"Alright then, we'll be making a move now. I'll leave this place to you."

After glaring at Mini Bubble Gum who crouched with her hands over her head, Rhode turned around and looked at the chuckling younger sister and Canary. Unlike the others, they certainly understood what exactly Mini Bubble Gum said, and that was the difference between gifted students and an Internet addict.

"Don't worry, Big Brother. With us around, everything will be fine."

After hearing his younger sister's response, Rhode finally put his mind at ease. He turned around, entered the center of the magical ritual, and gestured to Gillian with his hand. Upon witnessing his action, the fox-eared young lady who stood in one of the circles within the magical ritual revealed a relaxed smile.

"Wow, I never thought I'd get the chance to invite my master for a day trip to the elemental planes. So... Are you ready? The plane is about to take off, so please put away your trays and fasten your seat belts..."

After speaking in sentences that sounded foreign to the natives, Gillian lifted her arms high.

Along with her movement, things changed all of a sudden. The peaceful magical ritual emanated a bright glow. A dazzling flare erupted from the fox-eared young lady's body, metamorphosing into a fire column that rushed skyward. On the other side, as if resonating with the flames, rushing gales swirled into a whirlwind with Anne in its center. Meanwhile, the ice edges frozen by the whistling cold air extended in all directions, flowing like a fountain between the little mermaid's arms. Shortly after, it was Bell's turn. Facing the magical ritual before her, the little girl stretched out her arm and opened her eyes. Soon, the ground trembled and a towering, stone pillar rose from the flat ground.

The whirling elemental powers achieved peace at that moment. Shortly after, a colorful array of elemental lights erupted in the masses. All five of them, including Rhode, vanished completely.

Just as Gillian mentioned, transmigrating into the elemental plane felt like riding an airplane. Rhode witnessed dazzling and complex flashes before his eyes as his body simply accelerated toward the front. The restraints of gravity gradually disappeared from his body. After an unknown amount of time—perhaps it was an instant or a long time—the whole world suddenly changed.

The light that shrouded him disappeared in the blink of an eye. He stepped onto the ground once again with his weightless body. Whistling cold winds blew past his ears. At a glance, he witnessed a vast, white, snow-covered plain before him, as well as a forest that resembled ice crystals. A flurry of snowflakes blew against the face and even Rhode felt a bone-piercing chilliness.

"Phew... All is well. No delays on this flight. Folks, we've arrived at the Ice Throne of the water elemental plane!"

Upon hearing Gillian's voice, Rhode couldn't help but turn to her. In the elemental plane, everything on the outside was concealed by the inside. At that moment, it was the same for Gillian. Although she retained her original appearance, red and illusory flames could be seen burning in her body. This was exactly what the elemental plane was. On the other side, the little mermaid and Bell were the same, where the azure power of water and yellow power of earth enfolded their bodies, making them look as if they were wearing illusory and translucent luxury dresses.

"Alright, since we're here, we should prepare to..."

Rhode said and swept a glance at Anne who stood near him. Then, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

Just like the rest, Anne was shrouded in the power of wind from head to toe. The rushing gales metamorphosed into a long dress that wrapped the young girl's body. But despite that, it wasn't the elemental dress that caught Rhode's attention, but what was behind her instead.

A totemic marker that resembled a storm appeared on her back. And as a knowledgeable player, he certainly knew what that was.

It was the symbol of the wind elemental lord.

[1] What Cao Cao said to Wang Hou from the book 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' by Luo Guanzhong.

Chapter 1294: Ice Throne

Symbol of the wind elemental lord...

Looking at the symbol on Anne's back, Rhode couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye. In fact, he had already suspected that Anne was the child of a wind elemental lord. After all, her wind elemental power was clearly of the dominant class. In the past, when she consumed the awakening potion, Gillian mentioned to him that the blood flowing in Anne's body should be that of the wind elemental lord. Besides, when Rhode communicated with the Sky Whale earlier, the latter also mentioned that the wind elemental lord did have a child on the main plane. At that time, Rhode had pretty much confirmed it, except there was one most important condition that Anne didn't have, unfortunately. According to the Sky Whale, the child had a symbol of the wind elemental lord on its back. But it was a pity that after heading back, Rhode stripped Anne naked and searched over and over, but just couldn't find the said symbol. Rhode couldn't help but feel puzzled. After all, in every other way, Anne actually fit the bill, didn't she?

But it was a pity that despite her fitting the bill, she was like a Cinderella who couldn't fit into the glass slippers. Without the symbol on her back, it was all meaningless.

Rhode had already given up, but never expected to find the hidden symbol of the wind elemental lord in this situation.

Yes, the symbol is indeed on her back, but it only manifested after Anne entered the elemental plane... Would it kill you to be more explicit?! Would it?!

Seems like it would...

"Hmm? What's wrong, Leader? Is there something on Anne's back?"

Upon seeing Rhode's expression, Anne skipped to his side and asked curiously. After hearing her doubt, Rhode turned around, shrugged, and caressed her head.

"It's nothing much. Well, let's get ready to move out."

"Okay, Leader!"

Facing Rhode's response, the simple Anne accepted all of it without the slightest hesitation. And seeing that this topic was left out, Rhode heaved a sigh of relief. Although it was good news that he coincidentally discovered the symbol of the wind elemental lord on her back, their priority now wasn't to search for her parents since that could wait. After transmigrating the Dragon Soul Continent to the solar system, Rhode had all the time to bring Anne around to search for her parents. But now... It was better to get down to business soon.

The chilly winds howled.

The elemental plane had no concept of time, but fortunately there was still the concept of space. And now, Rhode and the others could only choose to brave the cold wind blowing in their faces. However, they were lucky enough to be transported to the Ice Throne, where it was located at the heart of the water elemental plane and was also the elemental lord's dwelling. The next step was to find the water elemental plane, unseal the Book of Elements, and bring it back to the main plane. Then, everything would be solved. As for its direction, as an inhabitant of the water elemental plane, the little mermaid naturally became the guide for everyone.

However...

"Leader, it's like we're thieves right now. Are we here at the water elemental plane to steal back that Book of Elements?"

Stooping over and following carefully by Rhode's side, Anne asked softly. Upon hearing her question, Rhode shrugged and remained silent. He also looked at the little mermaid in front of him with some confusion. After returning to the water elemental plane, the little mermaid no longer needed to stay and hide in the water ball. At that moment, she was just like a released bird, flying freely in the sky of the water elemental plane. Her petite body swam in the air as if it were water. But... Instead of looking like a soaring bird, she was more like... a startled bird.

The little mermaid was obviously a water elemental creature, but she acted so strangely in the water elemental plane. She moved forward slowly only after carefully looking at her surroundings and would immediately hide behind Rhode's back in fear as soon as there were any strange occurrences. Even though she was leading the way, she led Rhode to more hidden and safer places most of the time, so it wasn't surprising that Anne asked this question. And now, being led around by the little mermaid also felt as though they weren't here to retrieve something, but rather to steal something instead...

As a matter of fact, Rhode could be less careful with his identity. Because even if he encountered any water elemental creatures, as soon as he revealed his identity as the Void Dragon, the water elemental creatures would respectfully lead him to the water elemental lord. Then, he could negotiate with the water elemental lord and if everything turned out well, he could get his hands on the Book of Elements.

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Why are we even sneaking in like thieves right now?

However, Rhode didn't grumble much. Although none of the paths the little mermaids took were just and honorable, they didn't waste much time as they headed straight to the core area of the Ice Throne. Despite that, Rhode also realized the reason why the little mermaid seemed to be taking the safer routes was out of fear of meeting other water elemental creatures...

That was indeed odd. As Rhode's card spirit, the little mermaid was definitely a creature of this plane, just like how it wasn't strange for a water elemental creature like Agatha to be an inhabitant of this plane. However, the little mermaid's 'guilty conscience' made him curious. As far as he could remember, the inhabitants of the water elemental plane were usually either meek or indifferent. Either way, they weren't the type that would start an argument with anyone. On the other hand, Rhode watched the little mermaid's growth. She was usually a timid but obedient and sensible child. He refused to believe that she had caused a lot of trouble in the water elemental plane. In that case, what exactly was she so afraid of?

Squeak, squeak, squeak...

The thick layer of frost and snow beneath everyone's feet made a slight sound, before being completely muted by the whirling blizzard. Rhode was also fortunate that his group possessed strong elemental manifestations; otherwise, they would have been completely frozen to death by now. The temperature outside of the Ice Throne was comparable to that of Neptune's, where ordinary creatures would have been turned into ice sculptures in an instant. Only people like Rhode, Gillian, and Anne, who had pure and mighty elemental powers could walk here unharmed.

The entire Ice Throne was, as its name suggested, an island formed by a huge piece of iceberg floating on the surface of the water. As far as the eye could see, the whole Ice Throne seemed to have nothing but white snowfields and crystals that reflected chilly lights. But Rhode knew that it was just an illusion. The water elemental plane was just as the name implied. All creatures here could move about as freely as the little mermaid, which meant that if one were lucky enough, one could see a whale flying in the sky... Which wasn't entirely impossible.

"...!"

Suddenly, the little mermaid in front of the crowd was startled. She turned around and shuttled across the air like a fish. Rhode's vision dazzled and before he knew it, the little mermaid had hidden behind him. She reached out, held his shoulder, and peeked out with a pair of bright, aqua eyes that were filled with bewilderment and unease.

"What's wrong, Snow?"

Rhode knitted his brows at the sight of the terrified little mermaid and shifted his gaze to where she was staring at. Shortly after, he narrowed his eyes immediately.

Boom———!

A deep sonic boom erupted and all of a sudden, an enormous, pitch-black shadow appeared out of thin air. It was a giant octopus that was over ten meters long, suspended in the air, while its huge body descended slowly as though it were being lowered into the deep sea. At the same time, the giant octopus waved its tentacles, lashing out at a group of beings near it. The group of beings weren't just ordinary creatures. And although they were standing quite a distance away from Rhode, it only took an instant before Rhode saw who they were. A group of mermaid warriors had surrounded the giant octopus, wielding tridents, and were wrestling with the giant octopus bravely.

Looks like it's another ambush from a stray monster...

Looking at this scene, Rhode twitched his brows. He wasn't unfamiliar with the four main elemental planes, so he naturally knew some of their rules. The elemental plane itself wasn't a peaceful place. It was a place where all elemental creatures lived, and naturally, there were some violent ones among them. The water elemental plane had fewer such creatures, but it wasn't completely devoid of them. The giant octopus before them was a good example. It was obvious that this giant octopus had drifted to the Ice Throne from somewhere, and the mermaid warriors who were guarding the place tried to expel it. But unfortunately...

"Oh-no-no, it doesn't look like it's going to work."

Narrowing her eyes at the battlefield in front of her, Gillian wagged her tail and said with a smile. And it was just as Gillian mentioned. There were only a dozen mermaid warriors encircling the giant octopus, and they didn't stand a chance against it. In the blink of an eye, two more mermaid warriors were struck away by the giant octopus. Although the remaining mermaid warriors were grasping at straws, raising their tridents to attack the giant octopus, it was a pity that their attacks inflicted little to no damage.

This can't go on.

Gazing at the mermaid warriors who fought bitterly, Rhode took in a breath and gestured to his group.

"Gillian, come with me. Anne, stay here with Snow and Bell and protect them; understood?"

While it would be a good idea to get into battle together, Bell's combat experience was still lacking, while the little mermaid's abilities weren't effective against the giant octopus, who held the same water attribute as her. Moreover, Anne's abilities were also useless in this situation, which was why Rhode left her behind as well. When Anne heard his order, she nodded and took out her shield in one hand.

"Don't worry, Leader. Anne promises to protect them!"

"I'll leave it to you then."

After nodding to Anne, Rhode turned around and flew toward the battlefield with Gillian.

By the time Rhode and Gillian arrived on the battlefield, the mermaid warriors seemed to have completely run out of gas. Facing the tentacles that whipped at them, they could only summon an ice barrier to resist it. Just as Rhode and Gillian arrived, they heard a loud whoosh and the giant octopus's tentacle crushed the ice barrier effortlessly in a loud bang! Not only that, but the tentacle also grabbed for one of the mermaid warriors, bound her tightly, and dragged her toward it. At the same time, the giant octopus opened its mouth that was full of trembling razor-sharp teeth, which were as though they were telling their owner that they were famished!

"———! ———!"

The mermaid warrior caught in the tentacle struggled hard and let out a clear, miserable scream like a lark captured by an eagle. At that moment, the other mermaid warriors below charged ahead to rescue their companion. But unfortunately, none of them were able to save their companion as they were forced to retreat by the giant octopus' attack. The mermaid warriors at the bottom watched grudgingly as their companion was about to turn into food for the giant octopus, disappearing entirely into its huge mouth.

Swish!

But at the moment, a burst of flames lit up the menacing tentacles. In the face of this sudden agony, the giant octopus screeched. It instinctively loosened its grip around the mermaid warrior and waved its tentacles around unceasingly in an attempt to extinguish the flames. But unfortunately, its movements weren't able to eliminate the flames that were entwined and blazing on the tentacles. On the contrary, sparks and flares scattered from the burning flames due to its flustered movements, as though a heavenly maiden were sprinkling sparks at it. Flames were the natural enemy of water elemental creatures, and this giant octopus was naturally no exception. Although ordinary flames were unable to burn in the water elemental plane, it depended on who was releasing the flames.

"Oh-no-no, I wonder if this huge octopus tastes good roasted."

Gillian chuckled and floated in midair. She stared at the giant octopus in pain before her, but didn't have the slightest intention of stopping. Instead, she stretched out her arm and pointed forward. And with this action, hundreds of fireballs erupted from behind her all at once, enfolding and overwhelming the giant octopus.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Along with a series of explosions, the giant octopus shuddered in the sizzling flames that it was so terrified of. The kind of pain was literally like acid dripping onto its skin and eating away at its flesh without any mercy. Under Gillian's attack, the giant octopus retreated. But even so, it didn't seem willing to give up the delicious meal it almost devoured earlier. After letting out another bellow, the giant octopus shot out its tentacles at the mermaid warrior who was thrown out by it earlier.

"...!"

Staring at the deadly tentacle headed straight for her again, the frightened mermaid warrior turned ashen. Just when she clearly saw the rows of suction cups on the inside of the tentacle and thought she could no longer escape, all of a sudden, she felt an arm pulling her by the waist and dragging her out of the tentacle's attacking range. Immediately after, from the corner of her eyes, the mermaid warrior witnessed a bright, dazzling blade ray that sliced the tentacle into two like tofu.

"———!"

The traumatized octopus finally gave up its intention to attack, forced itself to give up the delicious treat, and shrank its entire body instantly. Shortly after, it spewed out a dense cloud of black ink from its mouth that enveloped its enormous body. There was an instant where even the sky and surroundings dimmed at this move. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the giant octopus turned around in a hurry, flew backward, and fled. It was very simple-minded. As long as it could leave this place alive, it would be a victory!

But... Would Rhode let it leave so easily?

Since it has already shown up, it could forget about leaving.

Gazing at the barrier of pitch-black ink, a glint flashed in Rhode's eyes. At the next moment, in the blink of an eye, the sword in his hand metamorphosed into a lightning bolt that penetrated the middle of the dark cloud of pitch-black ink. The mighty impact along with whirling gales erupted, wiping out the black ink instantly. And now, along with another miserable shriek, the giant octopus's body was punctured thoroughly, leaving a huge round hole in the middle. Blood sprayed everywhere from the wound, spreading, mixed with black ink. The giant octopus shuddered uncontrollably, but that was just its deathbed struggle.

"Goodbye, little octo~ Remember to turn into an octopus ball in your afterlife!"

Along with Gillian's hearty laughter, a sudden burst of flames instantly engulfed the octopus's body.

The mermaid warriors on the side were dumbfounded, completely unresponsive to the scene before them. After all, just a moment ago, they were trying to stop and defeat that terrifying monster with the belief that they would die. But they didn't expect the situation to turn around in just a split second. As these two strange beings showed up, the battle situation turned around drastically. The deep sea octopus was a creature that even a powerful group of mermaid elites had a hard time eliminating. Despite that, those two actually killed it so effortlessly?

But then again, who are they?

Chapter 1295: Daughter of the Sea

Rhode put away his sword after witnessing the unfortunate giant octopus burning into ashes in the flames. At the same time, he let go of the mermaid warrior he dragged away from danger earlier. The mermaid warrior also seemed to be dumbfounded by the fighting power that Rhode and Gillian displayed as she drifted blankly in midair. It wasn't until a moment later that she took a few steps back as if awakening from a dream, looking at Rhode hesitantly, and giving a respectful bow.

"Thank you so much for your help. Erm, may I know who you are..."

The mermaid warrior asked, while looking at Rhode and Gillian with suspicion. It wasn't surprising of her reaction as it was too unusual for two foreign and powerful beings to show up here. Fortunately, since Rhode made the move to save them earlier, the mermaid warriors didn't have any hostility toward him and his group. Despite that, they were still more or less confused and uncertain. And in response to the mermaid warrior's question, Rhode raised an eyebrow and spoke.

"I am the Void Dragon, and this is my subject. We have come to the water elemental plane to discuss something important with the water elemental lord. If you can, please pass the message for me."

"Your Majesty the Void Dragon?!"

Upon hearing Rhode's self-introduction, the mermaid warrior flustered. She bowed solemnly and hurriedly once more, before replying in trepidation and sincerity.

"My apologies. Please pardon my rudeness, Your Majesty the Void Dragon. I didn't expect you to come to the water elemental plane... Please wait for a moment."

Perhaps sensing that she couldn't say anything warmly welcoming, as the somewhat young and inexperienced mermaid warrior finished her sentence, she turned around and scrambled back to the other mermaid warriors immediately. She seemed to be speaking to one who looked like the leader of their group, and upon hearing her words, the other mermaid warriors also turned to Rhode's group in bewilderment as though they were very surprised. But it was no wonder that they reacted this way. Although the entire Dragon Soul Continent was theoretically governed by the Creator Dragons, places like the four main elemental planes were rarely associated with the main plane. Besides that, normally one wouldn't encounter a Creator Dragon visiting the elemental planes. But now, the Void Dragon was actually here, so it was hardly surprising that the mermaid warriors were so astonished.

After a few moments, the young lady who seemed like the leader 'swam' toward Rhode and gave a solemn bow.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Void Dragon, thank you so much for the assistance. Without your help, we wouldn't have been able to repel the intruders so efficiently..."

"It's nothing. I just happen to witness your battle along the way."

Upon hearing the mermaid warrior's greetings, Rhode answered and waved her aside with an airy gesture. The mermaid warrior knew that Rhode had no intention of wasting too much time, which was why she said nothing and gave a gesture of invitation.

"The lord's palace is right there. Please come with me..."

"Alright..."

Rhode wasn't mindful of the somewhat indifferent response from the mermaid warrior. Most creatures in the water elemental plane were gentle souls and rarely passionate about anything in particular. That was why Rhode didn't expect to receive any VIP treatment here. It was great enough for things to be this way. He wasn't unnecessarily picky, and nodded instead. Then, as though he recalled something, he asked.

"By the way, I have three companions over there. Let's wait for them."

The mermaid warrior had no intention of objecting, which was why Rhode beckoned to Gillian to bring the other three over. Gillian went to the back quickly and brought them here in no time. But...

"Where's Snow?"

Gazing at Anne and Bell, Rhode knitted his brows. Upon hearing his question, Anne spread her arms apart and showed a helpless gesture.

"Anne doesn't know, Leader. That little fella was still watching your fight with Anne earlier. But after your fight ended, she ran off in a whoosh as though she were chased by something. Anne wanted to look for her, but didn't see where she ran off to."

Anne replied and looked rather depressed. She was speechless at the thought of that scene. She was excited and decided to pull Bell and the little mermaid to cheer for Rhode and Gillian together. In the end, before Anne managed to grab Snow, the latter ran off far away. After Anne realized what happened, the little mermaid was nowhere to be seen anymore.

What's going on?

After hearing Anne's reply, Rhode didn't say much, but deep inside, he was really confused. Snow was usually obedient and sensible, and had always been great in battle. But this time, she acted strangely upon arriving at the water elemental plane and behaved like a thief as though she were afraid of being discovered. And now, she actually ran away again. Rhode more or less guessed that she probably didn't want to meet the mermaid warriors. But he couldn't figure out the reason why. After all, she was also a mermaid, so naturally, she was born and raised on the water elemental plane. As a matter of fact, Agatha could also be the one leading them to the water elemental plane. However, she wasn't really strong in her abilities, and Rhode also intended to bring the little mermaid back to her hometown to visit her family, which was why he eventually chose the little mermaid.

But the little fella...

"Forget it, let's get going..."

As his spirit card, Rhode had no problem locating the little mermaid. After questioning Anne, he immediately found the whereabouts of the little mermaid with some effort. But what made him caught between laughter and tears was that the little mermaid was now hiding in the snowy plains behind them, digging a hole to bury herself In it. In all honesty, this was the first time Rhode learned that mermaids could actually dig holes!

"... She will catch up with us."

Even though Rhode could easily summon the little mermaid to his side, he didn't force her, since she didn't want to show herself. He also knew that she must have something going on in the water elemental plane, or else she wouldn't be acting so sneakily. But it also didn't seem like it involved killing someone, so Rhode simply let her off on her own.

"Is anything the matter, Your Majesty Void Dragon? Do you need our help?"

"It's fine..."

Upon hearing the mermaid warrior's question, Rhode returned to his senses.

"... It's just a trivial matter. Let's go."

"Okay, Your Majesty."

Although the mermaid warriors were somewhat puzzled by Rhode's response, water elemental creatures were rarely meddlesome. Since Rhode wasn't going to talk about it, the mermaid warriors didn't pester him any longer. They nodded and headed toward the heart of the Ice Throne with Rhode and his group. But soon, Rhode realized that the mermaid warriors seemed to be just as wary of Anne as Snow was, despite Anne looking in all directions casually. On the contrary, they weren't too wary of Bell. Could it be that they smelled the scent of a carnivore from Anne's body?

Led by the mermaid warriors, Rhode's group had a much easier time. After all, this was the water elemental lord's palace, and defensive precautions were really tight. Moreover, the fact that Rhode and his group were non-water elemental creatures made them stand out like sore thumbs along the way. From time to time, high-ranking guards from the Ice Throne stepped out to interrogate them, but with the mermaid warriors around, Rhode's group wasn't hampered too much and entered the heart of the Ice Throne unimpeded.

But what surprised Rhode was that the little mermaid who followed far behind them actually also entered the palace. Rhode originally thought that the little mermaid would be discovered in no time by the countless guards around the Ice Throne. There were times when he was even ready to step out and explain the situation for her. But what he didn't expect was that although the little mermaid was following him from afar, she had actually escaped the interrogation of all the guards. Not to mention the mermaid warriors protecting his group, even the elite guards defending the Ice Throne hadn't noticed her presence!

That little fella sure is familiar with the Ice Throne.

The thought of Snow leading them along the edge of the Ice Throne undetected piqued Rhode's curiosity as to what her true identity was. He initially thought that Snow was just an ordinary creature amongst the mermaids. But now, it seemed like things were different. Otherwise, how would she be so familiar with the Ice Throne? From the way she led them, perhaps even without the help of the mermaid warriors, Rhode's group could still pass through the heavily guarded area secretly to meet the water elemental lord.

But it was a pity that they didn't come to the water elemental plane to be thieves...

"This is the place, Your Majesty the Void Dragon."

While Rhode let his imagination run wild, he arrived at the palace gate. Gazing at the entrance that was entirely frozen in ice, Rhode gathered his thoughts immediately. After all, the most important thing right now was the matter at hand. As for Snow, he could wait until later.

"———"

The frozen gate opened gradually. Shortly after, an ice-cold chilliness struck them, but it didn't affect them much. On the other hand, Gillian was the only one who let out a grunt of displeasure. Well, she couldn't be blamed since she was the fire elemental lord. This was the core region of the water elemental plane. Water and fire were incompatible, in the first place, so as a fire elemental lord, she didn't feel exactly comfortable here.

Sauntering forward and against the icy-cold winds, Rhode reached the center of the Ice Throne with his group. The first thing that caught his eyes was the huge throne in the middle, which was a large chunk of hard-cold ice that was four to five meters tall and carved into the shape of a throne. The floor was laid with smooth ice crystals, while the vast ocean could be seen through the translucent walls on both sides of the palace. The Ice Throne looked like a large aquarium, making one feel as though one were in an underwater world. As far as the eye could see, one could find seaweeds drifting in the ocean and all kinds of fish swimming leisurely in it. Accompanied with the shimmering glow, the view was particularly captivating.

"Woah..."

Looking at this scene, Anne couldn't help but exclaim. Bell also widened her eyes and sized up her surroundings curiously. After all, this scenery was too dreamy and unbelievable for them.

And at that moment, an ice-cold, yet gentle voice sounded.

"Welcome to the Ice Throne, Your Majesty the Void Dragon."

A common characteristic of water elemental creatures was that their speech was always smooth, quiet, soft, and with little to no emotion. It felt the same with this voice. Although it wasn't filled with passion or other intense emotions at all, it felt like a comfortable spring breeze to Rhode and his group, and the discomfort from the chilly winds vanished in an instant. Along with that voice, a slender figure appeared in front of them.

It was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. Her skin was as white and delicate as snow, and her soft, long hair was made entirely of ice: pure, flawless, and reflected a soft glow. Not only that, but her azure eyes were also as eye-catching as the deep sea. The water elemental lord was donned in what looked like a translucent robe. She stood up and gazed at Rhode's group, which just entered the Ice Throne. Facing this lovely woman before him, Rhode stretched out his hand and gave a bow. He knew very well that this woman in front of him was the water elemental lord, the Queen of Ice, Audrey.

"Greetings. Nice to meet you, Queen Audrey."

"It's nice to meet you too, Your Majesty the Void Dragon. I've heard what happened from Agatha. I never thought that you would come to the Ice Throne in person. It seems like the Book of Elements is indeed really important to you."

"That's right. This time, I am indeed here for the Book of Elements."

Audrey went straight to the point, and Rhode heaved a sigh of relief. Although the flow of time on the elemental plane was different from the main plane, it was still best to save as much time as possible. Besides, he also didn't wish for any trouble to occur, such as hearing news that the Book of Elements was stolen while they attended a banquet that Audrey invited them to. Even though the possibilities were low, players had experienced enough quests that ended with all kinds of strange development in the plot. For instance, the NPC they escorted went to commit suicide by taking on the BOSS. The players could only watch as the NPC dropped their precious reward into the river, and the players had to go down to search for it later...

And now that Audrey got right to the point, Rhode didn't have to maintain his social disguise any longer.

"The Book of Elements is essential for us. I heard it is in the water elemental plane, which was why I came here."

"You're right about that. The Book of Elements is indeed here."

Upon hearing Rhode's response, Audrey revealed a smile and said.

"Earlier, a group of elves from the main plane opened the Elemental Gate and fled to the water elemental plane to avoid the scourge of war. And in return for our protection, they gave the Book of Elements to us for safekeeping on their behalf. But as the power of the Book of Elements was too strong and out of control, we sealed it beneath the Ice Throne after some discussion among us, the elemental lords. That decision was to prevent the Book of Elements from causing extensive damage to the elemental planes. And since you've personally come here, Your Majesty the Void Dragon, I will pass the Book of Elements to you with no questions asked. But before I get to that..."

Audrey said and blinked. Then, she lifted her head and looked behind Rhode's group.

"My child, aren't you going to come out? How long do you want to hide?"

"..."

As the Queen of Ice spoke, the little mermaid emerged from the shadows outside the main entrance slowly. She entered the palace of the Ice Throne hesitantly with her hands interlocked, before scampering to hide behind Rhode as though using him as a shield. She was like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, as if it were safe if it couldn't see anything... But eventually, under the gaze of the Queen of Ice, the little mermaid peeked out from behind and whispered a greeting.

"Greetings... Mother..."

"..."

Upon hearing Snow's words, Rhode was slightly taken aback, but wasn't exactly surprised. He knew from the little mermaid's earlier behavior that her identity in the water elemental plane must be unusual. And now, it was just a confirmation of his thoughts. On the other hand, Anne was shocked to hear the news and exclaimed.

"Ehhh? Snow, you are the daughter of this big sister?"

"... Yes, Snow is my daughter."

Facing Anne's question, it was Audrey who answered instead. Snow remained silent, but nodded in affirmation. Looking at Snow's reaction, Audrey seemed to be a little disappointed. But in the end, she didn't say anything. She let out a subtle sigh, went up to Rhode, and made a gesture of invitation.

"The Book of Elements is over there. Please come with me, Your Majesty the Void Dragon."

Chapter 1296: Sealed Elements

Led by the Queen of Ice, the crowd headed deeper into the depths of the Ice Throne. As they went farther, the scenery around them changed gradually.

The crystal passageways on both sides became more transparent and bright glows emanated within the dark underwater world. At a glance, one witnessed a school of small, glowing fish swimming along the crystal walls. Not only did Anne widen her eyes and stare in curiosity, but Bell, who was always quiet, also strolled along the wall and focused her attention on the mesmerizing scenery. There was just too rare of an opportunity for them to witness this view.

"Please pardon my rudeness, Your Majesty the Void Dragon. Actually, I was hoping to send someone to deliver the Book of Elements to the main plane after getting Agatha's report... But for the sake of prudence, I decided to guard the Book of Elements here while awaiting your arrival..." the Queen of Ice said softly as she sauntered deeper into the crystal corridor. She looked over at the little mermaid who followed behind Rhode, and her eyes glinted in a flash. Then she sighed and continued. "... Perhaps you are unaware, but it hasn't been peaceful in the elemental plane lately either. We also know what has been happening on the main plane. I have to say, it's a real shame... But the elemental plane has its own troubles despite it being harder to breach than the main plane. Chaos still has an effect on creatures in the elemental borderlands, such as the deep-sea octopus you fought earlier. It was influenced by Chaos, which is why it attacked us."

"I see..."

Upon hearing Audrey's words, Rhode nodded without commenting as he understood the situation. The elemental planes were stronger than the main plane due to the fact that they were purely elemental worlds. They could even be said to be the last and safest layers of barriers. But that didn't mean that the elemental planes were a paradise as they were also threatened by Chaos. And the threat of Chaos wasn't always in the form of erosion. Instead, it was the insidious, mental attacks of Chaos that were the most threatening and unpreventable. The best example of this was Ion, a calm and collected dragon soul heir. But even so, he was still driven crazy by Chaos. It wasn't uncommon for Chaos to use this kind of 'mental contamination' to achieve their goals and sometimes, it was even more effective than their erosion. And now that the Chaos army had surrounded the entire Dragon Soul Continent, the four elemental planes were naturally also affected to some degree. So it was normal that such things happened.

Speaking of which, Rhode had felt there was something not quite right about that deep-sea octopus earlier. And now it looked like his guess was right.

"The elemental plane is fine, right?"

Even though he knew the answer, he asked this casual question for the sake of caution. And in response, Audrey nodded and replied.

"Not much of a problem, Your Majesty the Void Dragon. We have evacuated as many of the water elemental beings in the border areas as possible and dispatched patrols. Should anything unexpected happen, we will be informed straight away and respond immediately. Besides, the elemental planes are traditionally hard for Chaos to invade, so there shouldn't be any problem."

"That said... It isn't really that simple..."

Rhode responded and couldn't help but feel uneasy as he recalled the mutated Chaos that escaped from Earth. It was commonly known that the elemental planes were difficult for Chaos to invade because they possessed pure rules of Order. But now, twisted Chaos mutants were able to use its own bizarre characteristics to invade Order, which was how Lillian and Ion consequently fell into the trap. Frankly, Rhode didn't know what stage the mutated Chaos had reached... if it were to invade the elemental planes, Rhode wouldn't have much of a solution. Rhode pondered for a moment and finally decided to speak the truth to Audrey.

"As a matter of fact, the situation is more complicated than that, Queen Audrey. Chaos isn't as simple now because amongst them, mutants of Order exist..."

Rhode said and began explaining the news of the mutated Chaos to Audrey. According to his observations, the influence of Chaos seemed to be really aggressive toward creatures of pure attributes, like the undead creatures of the Country of Darkness. It was because they were purely undead in their attribute that they were contaminated by Chaos extremely quickly. Although Rhode wasn't sure of the specific reason, he decided to inform Audrey just to be on the safe side. One could never be too careful. If something went wrong by then, it would be too late.

"What?"

Upon hearing Rhode's words, Audrey's expression changed slightly. Due to the overlap between the elemental planes and main plane, the elemental creatures knew most of the things that happened on the main plane. They were naturally aware of the changes in the Country of Darkness. But despite that, the water elemental plane was never a place that would meddle in others' affairs. So even if they were aware, they didn't make any special effort to investigate. At that moment, the Queen of Ice felt a little uncertain. This type of mutated Chaos was just too weird, so much so that even she had never heard of it before. Audrey showed some uneasiness, came to a standstill, and looked behind her.

"Snow, come here."

"Yes... Mother."

Hearing Audrey's call, the little mermaid hesitated, but eventually went up to her mother's side. Audrey promptly retrieved a piece of crystal from her pocket, placed it on her forehead, and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she raised her head and gave the crystal to the little mermaid.

"Place this telecommunication crystal in the Resonance Hall and activate it. I want all water elemental beings to get this message at once, got it?"

"Yes, Mother."

Upon hearing Audrey's instruction, the little mermaid nodded somewhat timidly, took the crystal, and turned around to leave quickly. Judging from her reaction, it seemed like she couldn't wait to get as far away from her mother as possible. Looking at this scene, although Rhode knew that the situation was urgent, he couldn't help but give a gossipy look at Audrey. He had to admit that he was quite interested in such private family affairs, especially when it involved his own summoning spirit. Upon sensing Rhode's gaze, Audrey knew what was going through his mind. The Queen of Ice, however, wasn't quite embarrassed as she just smiled and spoke.

"My apologies, Your Majesty the Void Dragon. This daughter of mine is a little mischievous. If there's anything that bothers you, please don't take it too seriously..."

"Ugh..."

Rhode was dumbfounded.

Snow? Mischievous?

No matter how much he recalled, he never remembered seeing the naughty side of the little mermaid, at least not when he was around. The little mermaid had always been a classic example of an obedient and timid girl. Was she even capable of being mischievous too? This was so hard to understand...

But soon, Rhode learned the truth of the matter from Audrey. It turned out that a long time ago (the 'long time ago' in the elemental plane usually referred to at least a thousand years), the little mermaid slipped out of the Ice Throne out of curiosity for the outside scenery. Then, something unknown happened and the little mermaid was engulfed in a maelstrom of the water elemental plane. The Queen of Ice sent out creatures to search for the little mermaid several times, but to no avail. In the end, the only news she received was that the little mermaid should be swept by the maelstrom to the main plane, which wasn't under Audrey's jurisdiction, and she could no longer search for her whereabouts.

Of course, the little mermaid paid a terrible price for her 'mischievous' trip by being reduced to her original form of a pure water elemental spirit and slumbered deep within the ice. If Rhode hadn't defeated the boss in order to complete the guild mission and awakened her, perhaps she would still be sleeping until the end of the world.

Well... In a way, the little mermaid was indeed mischievous.

After hearing this story, Rhode finally understood why Snow looked so guilty when she saw Audrey. For most people, although hundreds of thousands of years had passed, to the little mermaid who was swept into a maelstrom, entered the main plane, and fell into a slumber, it was perhaps just a few short days. She was like a runaway child returning to home again, so it was understandable that she was so timid and uneasy. It was fine if she ran out to play nearby, but to head to the maelstrom and have fun... She really had a talent for being mischievous.

It was at this moment that the crowd arrived at the end of the corridor under Audrey's lead. However, what was surprising was that at the end of this corridor, there was neither a doorway nor any entrance that could be entered. On the contrary, what appeared before everyone was a fountain against the wall. Seawater surged unceasingly outside the transparent barrier, metamorphosing into a raging waterfall that spilled onto the pond from above. It looked like some sort of a special landscape rather than a place meant to seal important items.

"This is it."

Audrey said, extending her arm and waving gently.

"..."

Along with her action, the rushing waterfall parted on its own, while the seawater at the back also retreated. Shortly after, a wall of ice appeared on both sides, blocking the gushing seawater. The currents within the circular pond also separated to both sides. Then, along with trembles in the ground, a huge ice crystal emerged from inside slowly.

"This is..."

Looking at this scene, even Rhode was taken aback. The only thing that was sealed in the huge, thick crystal of ice was a book with a scarlet cover. Even though it was sealed within the ice, Rhode felt a surging elemental power from the book like a strong, furious wave crashing toward him. But at that moment, the book was sealed firmly within and unable to move an inch.

What a powerful line-up...

Looking at the seal in front of him, Rhode marveled at the fact that apart from being encased in the enormous ice crystal, a cage formed by tough obsidian could also be seen at the bottom, taking shape into thick, pitch-black chains that bound the ice crystal tightly. Apart from that, Rhode also witnessed lightning and winds flashing within the ice crystal from time to time. On the outside, blazing flames transformed into scarlet runes, forming three circles that shrouded the ice entire crystal. This could be said that all four major elemental seals were in place at once. If others were here instead of Rhode, perhaps they wouldn't be able to unlock such a powerful seal.

But to Rhode, this seal was nothing because he was the Void Dragon. And he also knew very well that Audrey brought him here in order for him to personally undo the seal. If he couldn't even do that, this Void Dragon was simply a counterfeit.

The Void Dragon was the creator who opened up space and created the entire Dragon Soul Continent. It went without saying that its authority over elemental domination was naturally greater than the other Creator Dragons. And now, watching as the Book of Elements lay in the ice crystal silently, waiting for him to retrieve it, Rhode took a deep breath to calm down. He stretched out his arm and grabbed for the seal before him. Looking at this scene, Anne, Bell, and Gillian, who were focusing their attention on admiring the scenery, turned around and looked at Rhode with various expressions.

Rhode extended his right arm and soon, a dark, illusory spiritual radiance emanated on his hand. Then, his fingers touched the fire elemental seal on the outermost layer. In the sound of a soft pop, the fire elemental halo wrapping around the huge ice crystal cracked open. As he continued to push his fingers forward, the obsidian chains that bound the ice crystals tightly were also untied on its own. However, Rhode didn't lower his guard. Staring at the ice crystal before him, he placed his hand on it.

"Open."

Rhode said in a deep voice.

In that instant, as though responding to his call, the ice crystal that encased the Book of Elements suddenly cracked and opened up like a blooming flower. Bursts of whistling, cold air blew along with the scattered ice fragments, making the scene before them somewhat dreamy. Looking at this scene, Anne and Bell gasped in disbelief. However, Rhode didn't falter at all. He looked at the Book of Elements before him once more, reached his arm forward, and spread his fingers.

The flashing thunder storm surrounding the Book of Elements swirled as soon as Rhode approached, as though it intended to strike his hand away. But Rhode wasn't fazed in the slightest. Facing the bolts of thunder, he hesitated for a moment, reached out his hand swiftly, and gripped the Book of Elements. The moment he grabbed the book, the thunderstorm vanished instantly in a puff of smoke.

"Phew..."

It was only when the Book of Elements was entirely in his hands that Rhode let out a sigh of relief. He was thankful that there was no mishap. In fact, even though Rhode remained expressionless, he was actually really nervous and afraid that this would turn out like one of those annoying quests in the game. For instance, when the player was finally about to complete the quest, an earthquake suddenly occurred and the player had to finish yet another series of quests... But now, the Book of Elements was in his hands and he was finally relieved. At that moment, he examined the book.

Just by holding it in his hands, Rhode felt a powerful and incomparable elemental aura exuding from it. The appearance of the book was almost like a replica of its seals. Its cover was fiery red, so much so that Rhode sensed the presence of flames. On the other hand, the pages were in an ice-cold white. From time to time, cold, chilly air was released from the pages, giving him a strange feeling like it was two worlds apart. The shining thunders formed a sacred and ancient rune on the cover, while the flickering chains with metallic luster locked the book in place just like the other two books.

It looks the same as the other two books... That said, the search has finally ended.

Placing the Book of Elements into the fold of his clothes, Rhode's expression, which had been somewhat serious, relaxed for a moment. Then, he turned and nodded to Audrey next to him.

"Thanks for your help, Queen Audrey."

"You're welcome, Your Majesty the Void Dragon. I, as the lord of this land, am supposed to do my part as a host. But..."

"There's no need for that. We appreciate your good intentions, but unfortunately we don't really have time to waste on that. So I can only apologize for that."

Upon hearing Audrey's words, Rhodes interrupted hurriedly. And after listening to his words, the Queen of Ice also nodded and didn't speak anymore. After all, to Rhode, the most important thing now was to open the Elemental Gate, return to the main plane, awaken the three books, and activate the enchanted field.

But at that moment...

"Master! Mother! It's bad!"

With a panicked scream, the little mermaid emerged from the other end of the corridor.

"We're under attack!"

"By Chaos?"

After hearing her report, Rhode's heart sank.

Are my hunches really that accurate?

But to his surprise, Snow shook her head with might.

"It isn't Chaos, but the water elemental creatures instead. We have been ambushed by them!"