Chapter 1301: Erkigal’s return

The rampage of Gluttony shook the entire God’s Continent, and multiple God-rank entities had fallen in the battle.

Even though Gluttony had fallen, the situation in other parts of the continent hadn’t calmed down. This was especially true in the three theaters, which had thoroughly transformed into Ruin Battlefields.

The Lord of the Wood had surprisingly fought multiple God-rank entities alone, eventually reaching the peak of her strength. No matter how powerful she was, the Lord of the Wood was still alone, and a single Holy Land could potentially seal her. However, for some reason, the Holy Lands were taking their time, refusing to launch an all-out attack against her.

They must have been wary of those watching from the shadows.

The three Bringers of Calamity.

"Who knows what those higher entities are thinking?"

Isabella shook her head.

A knock echoed on the door, followed by the voice of a young woman.

"Pavilion Master, Master Eilan has returned."

Isabella raised her eyebrows, and a frown appeared on her face. She said, "Call Eilan here. I want to talk to him."

After a while, Eilan arrived in the room.

Isabella stared at him for a moment before saying, "Don’t go out for now. Stay here and don’t cause any trouble."

"I’m not causing trouble," Eilan replied.

"Yes, you are. Sister Erkigal is always cleaning up after you." Isabella massaged her temples and added, "We’re going to wait for Sister Erkigal. Then we’ll go back. Souta already sent a message, so stay put."

"Souta...! He’s alive?!" Eilan exclaimed in surprise.

It had been several months since the battle, and almost everyone thought that the legendary Blood Lightning Monster had perished in it.

Actually, Eilan didn’t know how he should face Souta. He had recovered some of his memories and remembered being controlled by the elemental being.

It wasn’t him, but he had allowed the elemental being to inhabit his body. He had caused that tragedy and let his sister suffer for a long time.

"Yes, I will tell him what you’ve been doing," Isabella warned him.

"I know, I know..." Eilan said as he sat down on the vacant chair.

"Sister Erkigal will return soon," Isabella said before turning her eyes away from Eilan.

The Heavenly Potion Pavilion was quite huge, so even if Eilan stayed, there were still plenty of things he could do.

Eilan glanced at Isabella before sighing. He looked down at his hands and tightly clenched his fists.

He needed more strength.

In the Martial Arts Tournament this time, he hadn’t managed to win first place. He had only gotten third place, and that wasn’t enough for him.

"Sister..."

"How’s the tournament?" Isabella’s voice echoed.

Eilan lifted his head, looking at Isabella’s back.

"Third place."

"Hmm... Third place. That isn’t bad. Although this empire isn’t a Large Country, you must remember that this is still a powerful country with millions of people. Getting third place among all those contestants isn’t bad. You’re too obsessed with it to the point that you can’t maintain your peak condition. Souta will reprimand you for this."

Isabella paused before slightly turning her head to look at him.

"Souta wanted to get stronger and stronger, but he’s not training the same way you are. He doesn’t overwork his body like you do. When he’s resting his body, he’s letting his mind work by reading those spell books."

"I know, but..." Eilan wanted to say something, but Isabella cut him off.

"No buts. Franklin, Alice, Vashno, Torkez, and the others won’t approve of your training routine."

...

On the next day, the door to the main hall of the pavilion was slammed open, and a woman covered in blood entered.

"Ugh!"

The woman fell to her knees as she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The people inside the main hall were surprised.

They turned their heads and immediately recognized the woman.

"Lady Erkigal!"

One of the staff members hurried forward.

Erkigal waved her hand and said, "Don’t worry about me."

Then, her figure flickered forward.

No one could stop her. Even though she was heavily injured, she still retained some of her strength.

Swoosh!!

In just a second, Erkigal arrived in front of Isabella’s room.

The door opened, and Isabella appeared in front of Erkigal. Isabella had already detected Erkigal’s presence, but she hadn’t expected Erkigal to be in such a condition.

"What happened?!"

Isabella asked as she helped Erkigal to her feet.

She swiftly pulled out a bottle containing a red liquid and poured it into Erkigal’s mouth.

"Your injuries! How?!"

Isabella immediately noticed the severity of Erkigal’s injuries and the rapid decline of her mana.

"I encountered some trouble," Erkigal said before coughing up another mouthful of blood. Her vision was beginning to blur.

"Tell me."

Isabella carried her friend into the room and gently laid Erkigal on her back on the bed. She then poured another recovery potion over Erkigal’s wounds.

"The Great Shen Empire... isn’t safe right now... There are hidden schemes... and plots everywhere... It’s going to fall soon..." Erkigal said with great difficulty.

"We’re going to leave. Souta already sent a message, so you don’t have to worry," Isabella said to her friend.

The two of them had worked together to build the Heavenly Potion Pavilion. They treated each other as family, supporting one another through difficult times when they had lost almost everything.

"You’re going to be fine," Isabella said.

She narrowed her eyes, unable to shake off the worry in her heart.

"I’m going to help her recover her strength with some potions, and then we’ll leave immediately."

...

Royal Capital of the Great Shen Empire.

Inside a room, five people had gathered. Each of them had a pale look on their faces as they stared at something terrifying.

"How did this happen?!"

"Why?!"

Fear filled their hearts as they understood the impact this would have.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and an oppressive aura invaded the room, pressing down on the five people.

"Oh, Mage Xi Xing!"

"Greetings!"

The five people turned toward the newly arrived man.

The man was none other than the Royal Court Mage of the Great Shen Empire, publicly acknowledged as the strongest mage in the empire, Mage Xi Xing.

Xi Xing was a tall man with long brown hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. A scar ran from his cheek down to his neck, while a strange symbol was engraved on his nape. He wore a long white-and-black robe with the symbol of the royal empire carved onto its back.

He walked forward and entered the bathroom.

There, he saw the corpse of a naked woman lying in a small pool of blood.

"First Princess..."

Xi Xing narrowed his eyes as he stared at the lifeless body before him.

He turned back to the five people and said, "Don’t leak this information. Only tell His Majesty about it."

The impact of the First Princess being assassinated in the Royal Palace was enormous. It would cause widespread panic among the people, and various nobles would try to take advantage of the situation.

Xi Xing placed his palms against the walls as his mana flowed through them.

"As expected, the one who assassinated the First Princess is an expert, probably at the Hero-rank, and a Rune Master."

He could feel traces of runes throughout the room. These runes had isolated the assassin’s presence and separated this place from the outside world, ensuring that no one would be able to easily sense anything, even if there had been a burst of energy here.

Xi Xing contemplated for a while, his frown growing deeper and deeper.

The Great Shen Empire was quite powerful, but it was surrounded by various sects. Although they were only third-rate sects, that didn’t mean they were weak. In fact, those sects possessed tremendous might, and no one could easily annihilate them.

’Those sects are targeting our empire, but I have no clue if it was really them who assassinated the princess... Moreover, the empire isn’t alone.’

Those sects weren’t united at all.

Some of them were mortal enemies and would kill each other on the spot.

They couldn’t possibly work together.

Unless there’s a greater force guiding them. But why would they target the empire?

If it was the sects, then Xi Xing could understand it. However, if there really was a greater force guiding them from behind, then the empire had nothing to offer.

No, perhaps some of our nobles decided to ally with the sects...

After all, the nobles within the empire weren’t united either. Just look at Duke Nangong of the Southern Region. That duke wanted to take over the rule of the empire, but the empire couldn’t do anything because of those hungry sects watching from the outside.

"I need to talk with His Majesty."

Xi Xing turned around before flicking his fingers.

Ohm!!

The body of the First Princess disappeared into thin air.

Xi Xing left the room and hurriedly went to seek an audience with His Majesty, the Emperor of the Great Shen Empire.

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