Richard didn't know whether it affected her emotions or not, but at the very least, she was clearly very surprised.

"Eat," said Richard.

Whoosh!

The mouth made of blood widened and swallowed Sterling.

Of course, it wasn't something meant to destroy. Sterling was merely engulfed by the mouth and appeared fine inside.

However, blood—special blood seemingly tinged with gold—began to flow out of him in the form of small glowing dots, converging at the throat of the bloody mouth, right in front of Richard's palm.

He knew that was the Bloodline Core, just like Athena's before.

It seemed Sterling's Bloodline Core would be golden in color.

But Richard noticed a slight problem.

Sterling was stronger than him.

Even though Sterling had been rendered powerless, it was still somewhat difficult for Richard to absorb his bloodline.

BANG!

Black lines appeared all over Richard's body as he activated the hidden power of his Black Heart.

There was no other choice—he needed additional strength.

Only after channeling the hidden force from his Black Heart did everything become easier.

The golden Blood Core quickly formed.

Sterling visibly weakened until his skin turned pale.

BANG!

A loud explosion echoed as the golden Blood Core was completed.

The head of the blood monster shattered.

After that, Richard couldn't help but glance toward the Fire Spirit Queen.

Her gaze at the Bloodline Core seemed deeply impressed, as if she was hoping to possess it.

Richard didn't know whether she truly desired it.

After all, as a slave, what was the use of having such an ability?

It would be far better if she asked for Richard's help to extract the abilities of certain beasts that could actually strengthen her.

The power of the Blood Devourer Beast didn't really enhance her strength—it merely gave her the ability to steal other beasts' powers. That, in fact, reduced the number of Bloodline Cores her body could hold, since two was the limit for humans whose Blood Element Affinity didn't exceed 90%.

"Someone out there would definitely buy it for a high price," said the Fire Spirit Queen.

"Oh? Who? And what would they pay with?" Richard couldn't help but be surprised by her words.

It was likely that the reason she seemed interested in the Bloodline Core was to sell it to that person.

"A powerful figure from the Land of Spirit. As for what he would use to pay, you can ask for something you need," the Fire Spirit Queen replied.

"So far away," Richard muttered. He hadn't expected it to be someone from beyond the Land of Humans.

"But are you sure I can get something I need?" he asked.

Though distant, such an exchange was still possible. There were many ways to make it happen. The safest, for example, was to have the Fire Spirit Queen send a message and invite the person to come.

"Trust me. That person is very powerful and possesses many valuable things. If he doesn't have what you want, he can trade for it with someone who does. But don't even think about asking for something that could help you merge with the world. Even he can't grant you that," she said calmly.

Richard nodded several times before asking again, "Then, Queen, what do you think I should ask for?"

He honestly didn't know what he truly wanted, since he couldn't request something to help him achieve oneness with the world.

He could only seek the Fire Spirit Queen's advice, as she had far greater knowledge and experience.

If that person truly desired the Bloodline Core from the Blood Devourer Arcane Art, Richard might even be able to ask for a Grand Weapon.

But he didn't really want that—he already had one, and he couldn't even use it yet, not even just to observe it.

Hearing his question, the Fire Spirit Queen fell into thought.

"You possess an Ignis Volt Core, right?" she said after a moment.

"Yes... I do. Why?" Richard nodded and asked.

"What you have is a Low-Tier Ignis Volt Core. Above that, there's a High-Tier version. You can ask that person to upgrade your Core to High-Tier. You'll realize it's a fair trade once you understand how terrifying a High-Tier Volt Core is—but as I said, it requires your Low-Tier Ignis Volt Core as the main material. The rest, that person will provide," she explained.

"How terrifying is it?" Richard asked again.

"It can merge with your body and even use Nature Spirits as an additional energy source, allowing you to unleash attacks beyond your level as long as you have enough Spirit Energy. The fusion of fire and lightning becomes much more perfect, and its blast can shatter space and time. As long as you can maintain its energy, its power can even surpass that of Grand Weapons wielded by High-Class Magi like me. In the past, someone once used it to wound a Grand Sovereign."

"Seriously?" Richard found it hard to believe.

After a moment, he nodded several times.

"Alright, that can be done," he said.

"But I want that person to come here, so just send him a message," he added.

"Hmph, are you afraid I'll abandon you after tricking you so many times?" the Fire Spirit Queen said before vanishing, leaving Richard frowning at her teasing remark.

He did prefer her protection—but even without her, he could still protect himself. It wasn't fear.

Once she was gone, Sterling was finally released from suppression.

However, he was in the same state as Athena before—limp and powerless.

He stared at Richard with extreme fear.

And Richard looked back coldly.

"As a beast, you've truly been arrogant," Richard said.

"Now your life is worthless, while your death will at least give me one Slave Seal, so your death is clearly more valuable," he added with a sinister grin.

He reached out his hand toward the man.

"Ahhh..." Sterling's scream echoed shortly after, and moments later, nothing remained but a spotless floor.

Alone again, Richard finally sat on his bed and lay down, trying once more to find a way to merge with the world.

There were no results at all, but it was something that had to be attempted over and over—no matter how many thousands of times.

After an unknown amount of time, Richard eventually fell asleep.

"Richard! Richard!"

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but his door was suddenly pounded loudly by Sister Lisa, who called out to him nonstop.

Richard didn't just open his eyes—he instinctively stood up, even leaping to the door and opening it.

"Sister, what's wrong?" he asked, finding Sister Lisa in a state of panic.

"Richard, it's bad! Arthur sent me word that many barbarian tribes have decided to unite and plan an attack on Snow Sky City. The Bear Tribe, the Ice Gorilla Tribe, and many others," she said quickly.

"Ohh..." Richard's reaction was calm when he heard that.

He had already expected things to turn out this way.

"Richard, the news has spread, and many citizens have begun leaving the city early. They think this place will be destroyed by the assault of so many barbarian tribes," Sister Lisa continued, and Richard simply nodded slightly.

For a large-scale invasion like this, he already had plans.

He didn't need to ask the Fire Spirit Queen for help. After all, the attacking forces would likely consist only of Life Aether, World Realm, and Grimoire Realm warriors.

Even Lord Realm experts usually only appeared in much larger wars.

If a powerhouse like the Fire Spirit Queen got involved, there was a chance that other mighty figures from the Ancient Ice Region would also appear.

This didn't mean there were no Grand Sovereigns in the Ancient Ice Region—if there weren't, that territory wouldn't have survived this long.

Richard didn't want a Grand Sovereign-level battle to happen. It would be far too dangerous for everyone—the destructive aftermath of such fights was too great.

Those kinds of battles only occurred when World Magic Aether appeared.

Because of that, Richard would use his own plan—one that didn't involve forces as overwhelming as the Fire Spirit Queen.

'While they prepare, I'll prepare too,' he thought.

"Sister Lisa, don't worry too much. I'll handle this," Richard said before stepping out of his room. Sister Lisa hurriedly followed him, curious about his plan.

In his castle, there was a staircase leading down to a basement.

Richard had never been there before.

The basement was even larger than the castle itself.

It extended beneath the entire courtyard.

A massive object floated in the center—spherical in shape, but actually made of interlocking metal plates forming a hollow ball.

Each plate had small gaps, leaving countless openings along the sphere.

Further away, four long steel pipes were connected to the sphere, stretching out in four directions, piercing through the basement walls and deep into the ground beneath the city.

This was the City Defense Formation Core.

As a city often involved in conflict, the kingdom had naturally prepared one defensive formation here.

However, it required Nature Spirits as its energy source.

Its defensive power could even withstand attacks from a Lord Realm Magus—but that also meant it needed a constant supply of energy to stay active.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.