Chapter 1840 - 1357: The Thoughts of the Female Mages

Kingdom of Stars, Jiale City.

Seven in the evening was exactly when the central avenue’s pedestrian street was at its liveliest, the crowd packed shoulder to shoulder, people brushing past like a flowing river. Felix saw kids in War Dresses darting around her, and only then suddenly realized that today was the War Dance Festival.

The War Dance Festival originated from the first Duke Vosloda. As the Chief Legend of the Dazzling Starry Dynasty, the first Duke was not only an ever-victorious commander and a general who charged at the forefront, but also the source of courage for the countless soldiers on the battlefield.

On the eve of every great war, the first Duke would build a high platform, don a ferocious demon mask and become fully Armored. As the military band beat the war drums and the battle hymn echoed across the Starry Sky, the Duke would stand tall upon the platform with twin swords in hand, dancing with his blades and promising victory, using his sword dance to rouse the Battle Intent of the entire army!

From then on, the war dance became a traditional performance art of the Starry Army, and the people also began to celebrate the final decisive day of the Dazzling Starry Dynasty’s last war as a festival. On this day, war dance performances would be held all over the country. At the Dazzling Dynasty’s hundred-year anniversary, the War Dance Festival was officially established as an official holiday. Later, because many children liked to dance along with the performers, parents gradually began dressing them up in exquisite, beautiful War Dresses on this day and letting them play and run wild. After hundreds of years, it had become a traditional custom.

And it wasn’t just limited to children; many teenagers and even adults would also change into War Dresses. For ordinary people and most Mages, they might never get the chance to wear War Dresses and join a real battle in their entire lives. The War Dance Festival was one of the few chances for them to get a faint taste of what war felt like.

Thinking back to last year’s War Dance Festival, Felix had still been taking care of the comatose Ash, while Sonia and the others were plotting to shatter the Starry Sky. Only now did she suddenly realize that it had only been a year. Looking back now, she almost felt that the peaceful life she’d spent in Dazzling Star was something from a past life.

Maybe it was because everything that had happened this past year had been more exciting than her previous twenty years put together. It was as if she’d been born into this world solely for this one year; after witnessing such gorgeously dazzling fireworks, even the twinkling Star Cluster seemed dull and dim.

"You’re this disappointed just because nothing you expected happened?" Dedarose, wearing a veil, suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Last night, being pulled into that Thought Domain they kept mentioning so many times—you were actually looking forward to it, weren’t you? When you saw Ash, if I hadn’t been holding you up..."

"No way!" Felix blurted in a panic. "I was just scared when I saw him! Dragging us in there without even saying hello... and he even included you, Miss Lena, that trash can!"

"Actually, the moment you noticed I was there too, you should’ve realized that nothing was going to happen." Dedarose said lazily. "It would’ve been better if something had; at least then you wouldn’t be this tangled up and upset right now."

Last night, Freyja, Siflin, Hanna, Tamasi, Felix, and Dedarose had all been pulled by Ash into the Thought Domain to forge Bonds.

But this time Ash had been very proper. After explaining the World Snake that devours worlds, Dazzling Star, and the details of the Task in detail, he ended that long-awaited conversation, and nothing any of them had been secretly hoping for actually happened.

According to Ash, he and the Sword Maiden and the others hadn’t rested for even a minute these days; all their time, energy, and resources had been poured into Magic Construction, and even as of last night it still wasn’t fully completed—they still had to keep going over everything for omissions and flaws. He didn’t make any promises, because even without this happening, Freyja and the others would still receive Ash’s help when advancing to Demigod.

He merely stretched out his hand to everyone and said, "Please, just like before—once more, become my strength."

When seven hands stacked together, Felix and the others returned to reality. The Female Mages scattered across different countries had, because of this promise, once again gathered together.

Felix had originally wanted to keep arguing with Dedarose, but at that moment Dedarose pulled her over to a nearby shop and bought two cups of taro boba milk tea. Holding the warm cup in both hands, the second young lady of Vos Vosloda lowered her head and bit on the straw. Her agitation slowly faded, replaced by a nameless kind of vexed gloom. She muttered, "You’re probably the only one who’d notice."

"Only me?"

Dedarose’s expression was rather subtle:

"Last night in the Thought Domain, there were only two people whose gazes were practically turning to taffy. One was Freyja, who dove straight in and hugged Ash from the start, and the other... I won’t say who she was."

"R-Really?" Felix felt every blood vessel in her face burning. "It couldn’t be that bad, right?"

"Why do you think, just like them, your mark is also in the form of jewelry? And you just happen to have a habit of wearing a necklace." Dedarose chuckled. "Even Ash noticed."

"So obvious that even Ash can see it..." Felix weakly covered her face. "How is that any different from having it written on my forehead! They’re definitely laughing at me in their heads!"

"This shop’s milk tea is actually pretty good."

"Forget it." Felix quickly straightened out her mood and sucked at the milk tea ferociously. "I’ll just obediently finish his Task, and then cash in this favor when I advance to Demigod in the future, and after that he and I will have nothing to do with each other ever again."

"Right now Hell still hasn’t shown a trace. If you want to advance to Demigod, your only option is to enter the Seven Heavens and become an Angel." Dedarose glanced at her. "Setting aside whether there’ll be other Divine Lords in the future, if Ash invites you to be his Angel, would you really refuse?"