Chapter 1243 Awakening [1]

Soon, the darkness around them began to change.

At first, it was subtle. A faint distortion appeared beyond the transparent bubble, like ripples spreading through ink. Then light appeared.

The soldiers barely had time to react before the black void surrounding them folded inward, and the bubble vanished.

Their surroundings changed completely.

For several seconds, none of the nine moved.

The first thing they saw was a massive black pillar rising into the sky. It stood not far from them, tall and unnaturally smooth, its dark surface carrying faint patterns that seemed to shift whenever they looked at them too closely.

Beyond it, further into the territory, stood an enormous temple. Calling it magnificent almost felt insufficient. Its architecture was unlike anything the soldiers had seen in the empire.

The structure towered over the surrounding land, ancient and imposing, with countless intricate designs covering its walls and pillars.

Several of the soldiers instinctively stared. Then something else hit them.

Mana. Dense mana flooded into their bodies the moment they appeared.

The reaction among the eight weaker soldiers was immediate. Several staggered, with one dropping to a knee. Another inhaled sharply as though he had suddenly been submerged underwater. Their bodies greedily absorbed the surrounding energy without permission. For a few seconds, they almost looked drunk.

The mana density here was simply too high compared to what they were accustomed to. Their circulation immediately became chaotic as their bodies attempted to adapt to an environment where every breath contained far more energy than what they normally experienced.

Commander Aldric reacted much faster. Even then, his expression changed.

The mana here was very dense. Far denser than most regions he had visited within the empire. Even certain high-level cultivation grounds didn't maintain this kind of concentration across such a wide open area.

His first thought was that this was a secret realm. Their lord must have somehow transported them into some exceptionally high-grade secret realm.

It made sense, given how this place seemed to be like some ruins. At least, that was the only explanation Aldric could currently think of.

He turned slowly.

That was when he noticed the wall.

Far in the distance, an enormous structure cut across the landscape. It rose more than a hundred metres into the air. From this distance alone, Aldric could already tell that it was absurdly thick.

His expression became increasingly serious.

Aldric was just about to spread his senses again when space shifted in front of him.

Two figures appeared. Michael stood before them. Beside him was Arianne.

"I can understand if there's a uniform price below Rank Three, but why was I priced at 10,000 points? What's this nonsensical discrimination?!"

The nine soldiers could not understand what their lord was talking about.

Points? Ten thousand? Discrimination?

Still, confusion did not stop discipline. Aldric straightened first and brought a fist to his chest. The other eight followed almost immediately.

"Your Majesty."

At this point, even Aldric was looking at Michael differently.

Before today, he had already understood that Michael was powerful. Everyone in the military did. Even Rank Three existences treated his name carefully.

But this was different.

This looked like something only gods could do.

Arianne found herself looking at Michael with even more admiration as well.

She had already seen many ridiculous things since becoming involved with him. The Mausoleum. His undead. His abilities. Yet somehow, he kept revealing something new.

She had several questions she desperately wanted to ask. Where exactly were they? What had that strange dark space been? Could anyone use the structure?

But with the soldiers still present, she kept everything to herself.

Michael, meanwhile, looked around.

Nothing had changed. Everything was normal.

Except for one problem.

There was no option to send the nine soldiers back to the Land of Origin. The Eternal Crown Empire appeared within the territorial network, but there was no usable departure point here corresponding to the Subsidiary Territorial Anchor he had created there.

Michael finally understood. He had misunderstood the structure slightly.

The Universal Cornerstone itself was the heart of the network, but it was not meant to act as a normal transit platform.

To send people from one territory to another, both sides required an actual Subsidiary Territorial Anchor. The cornerstone established and governed the connection. The anchors handled transportation.

Fortunately, the solution was simple.

Michael turned toward the nine soldiers and Arianne. Space folded around all of them. The next moment, they disappeared from the central region.

When their surroundings stabilized again, they stood within the Outer Area of the Eternal Crown.

Michael deliberately chose a central location.

[Establish Subsidiary Territorial Anchor?]

[Confirmed.]

The soldiers barely had enough time to recover from yet another instantaneous relocation before light began spreading across the ground.

Aldric's eyes widened at the phenomenon appearing before him.

When the light disappeared, a smooth stone platform occupied the land. A vast magic circle covered its surface. And behind it stood another gigantic statue of Michael with his face raised toward the sky and both arms spread apart.

Several soldiers looked from the statue to Michael.

Michael ignored them. He immediately opened its interface.

[Subsidiary Territorial Anchor]

[Connected Territories: 2]

[The Eternal Crown Empire]

[Energy Points: 2,930]

Michael's eyes sharpened.

The Energy Points were still there.

He had half expected this newly constructed anchor to possess an empty reserve and require another twenty crates of crystals before he could do anything. Instead, the remaining 6,920 Energy Points had carried over.

It seems the energy reserve wasn't local but belonged to the entire territorial network.

Michael's earlier pain over the crystals faded slightly.

Michael turned toward the nine soldiers. They had already served their purpose. He selected all nine.

[Targets: 9]

[Destination: The Eternal Crown Empire]

[Transfer Cost: 1,800 Energy Points]

The formation activated.

This time, none of the soldiers panicked when light surrounded them, although several still looked visibly tense.

Their bodies became translucent. Then disappeared.

Back in the Land of Origin, the first Subsidiary Territorial Anchor lit up. Several moments later, nine figures appeared across the magic circle.

Aldric immediately spread his senses.

It was a familiar land.

They were back.