Chapter 166: Niuniu Returns 1

“It means someone favored by the gods.”

The Queen’s voice remained calm and measured.

“However, according to the ancient records of our dark elf race, the truth behind the God-Favored may be rather different.”

She paused for a moment before continuing.

“When a god falls, their soul does not always vanish completely.”

“For reasons we still do not understand—or perhaps because of some secret art—the remnant soul may eventually be reborn and grow once more as a mortal.”

The Grand Elder listened in silence.

“When enough time has passed, fragments of the fallen god’s memories may gradually begin to awaken.”

The Queen’s tone became more solemn.

“Ten thousand years ago, during the great war between gods and demons, no one knows how many divine beings perished.”

“So the appearance of one or two God-Favored in this era would hardly be impossible.”

Her hidden gaze seemed to sharpen beneath the cloak.

“And I suspect Kent may be one of them.”

“Otherwise, how would you explain everything that has happened around him?”

“That is precisely why I told you to give him that scroll.”

She paused.

“There is one thing you probably do not know.”

“Do you know what is required before anyone can cultivate the secret technique recorded on that scroll?”

The Grand Elder stood frozen for several breaths.

Then his expression changed sharply.

“Your Majesty... are you saying that Kent’s soul may actually be the soul of a god?”

His voice trembled slightly.

“And that his soul may still contain memories from his previous existence?”

This was the first time the Grand Elder had ever heard such a secret.

Even someone of his age and experience could not prevent his mind from being shaken.

The Queen slowly shook her head.

“I only suspect it.”

“I am not yet completely certain.”

She gave a faint sigh.

“But if we continue observing him for a while longer, I believe I will eventually have my answer.”

The Grand Elder quietly exhaled.

At least it was only a possibility.

Still, the more he thought about Kent, the more reasonable the suspicion seemed.

There were simply too many things about that young man that could not be explained by ordinary talent.

Then the Grand Elder suddenly remembered the Queen’s earlier words.

She never spoke without purpose.

“Then, Your Majesty... what exactly is the prerequisite for cultivating that secret technique?”

The Queen fell silent for a moment.

When she answered, each word seemed to come slowly and deliberately.

“Origin Power.”

The Grand Elder’s expression stiffened.

“The prerequisite for becoming a god.”

“Origin Power.”

“Only someone who already possesses Origin Power can cultivate the technique recorded on that scroll.”

Her voice grew heavier.

“That is not an ordinary secret art at all.”

“It is a cultivation method used by gods in the Primordial Era.”

“The prerequisite for becoming a god...”

The Grand Elder murmured the words unconsciously.

“A seventh-rank mage...”

He looked toward the Queen.

She gave the slightest nod.

That was enough.

The Grand Elder suddenly remembered what he had personally witnessed earlier.

Kent’s aura had steadily weakened the moment he began circulating the technique.

Which meant...

Kent had successfully cultivated it.

Which meant...

His mind reached the inevitable conclusion.

“Thud!”

The Grand Elder’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious.

The revelation was simply too terrifying for him to endure.

“BOOM!”

At almost the exact same time, an earth-shaking explosion tore through the Holy City of the Empire of Light.

Chaos erupted instantly.

At the heart of the city stood one of the empire’s most sacred landmarks—a colossal statue of the Lord of Light, holding a staff aloft while countless worshippers knelt beneath him.

Before the horrified eyes of everyone in the square, the divine statue suddenly exploded.

Stone and debris erupted in every direction.

At that same instant, several terrifying auras shot into the heavens.

The pressure was so immense that the entire Holy City seemed to tremble beneath it.

But just as those overwhelming presences appeared—

a violent spatial fluctuation suddenly rippled through the air.

“Holy Light Barrier!”

“Binding Light!”

“Great Prophecy!”

Three voices thundered out almost simultaneously.

The next moment, three brilliant domains unfolded across the sky.

To those looking up from below, it was as though three miniature suns had suddenly appeared above the city.

These were the domains of three Domain-level experts.

For one brief instant, their power illuminated the entire Holy City.

And then—

all three domains vanished.

The clash had lasted no more than a heartbeat.

Yet in that single instant, the entire central district of the Holy City had been reduced to ruins.

Buildings collapsed.

Streets shattered.

Dust and debris swallowed everything in sight.

Not long afterward, the Pope of the Empire of Light issued an order that shook the entire continent.

“Release a continent-wide warrant.”

“The target is a high-rank spatial mage.”

“The reward shall be one Resurrection Scroll, one million gold coins, and the title of Grand Duke of the Empire of Light.”

The news spread with astonishing speed.

A continent-wide warrant of this scale was almost unheard of.

Within the Mercenaries’ Guild, the hunt was immediately classified as an SS-rank mission.

The headquarters of the Continental Mercenaries’ Guild stood in Alliance City, directly across from the Mages’ Guild Headquarters in the distance.

Normally, the Mercenaries’ Guild was one of the busiest places in the entire city. Adventurers and mercenaries crowded its halls at all hours of the day, drinking, shouting, exchanging information, and fighting over newly posted missions.

Today, however, the enormous guild hall was strangely deserted.

The place that should have been packed shoulder to shoulder was almost completely empty.

Not a single mercenary could be seen.

Just then, a short dwarf came bounding through the entrance, his stubby legs moving as quickly as they could carry him.

“I want to accept a mission!”

It had to be said that the Mercenaries’ Guild had put a surprising amount of thought into the design of its headquarters.

The dwarf hurried straight toward a counter specially built for members of the shorter races. A raised platform stood in front of it, allowing dwarves and others of similar height to speak comfortably with the staff behind the counter.

The dwarf hopped onto the platform and immediately shouted toward the clerk inside, his expression filled with impatience.

“Please present your mercenary badge,” the guild employee replied in the practiced tone of someone who had said the same words thousands of times.

The dwarf impatiently tossed his badge across the counter.

“Hurry up! Hurry up! I want to accept both SS-rank missions!”

The clerk picked up the badge and glanced at the rank recorded on it.

His expression immediately became rather strange.

“Sir, are you certain you wish to accept SS-rank missions?”

He hesitated before adding kindly, “Your current rank seems... somewhat low.”

“What business is that of yours?”

The dwarf practically jumped in anger.

“The mission doesn’t say someone of my rank isn’t allowed to accept it!”

His voice echoed throughout the empty hall.

Clearly, he was far too anxious to care about politeness.

The clerk could only shake his head helplessly and register the dwarf for both missions.

In truth, the dwarf was hardly unusual.

Ever since the two SS-rank missions had been posted that morning, the mercenary world had gone completely mad.

Throughout the entire history of the Mercenaries’ Guild, an SS-rank mission had appeared only once before.

That mission had been to hunt down an evil dragon.

It had required overwhelming strength, countless experts, and the willingness to risk almost certain death.

But the two new SS-rank missions were entirely different.

Strength barely mattered.

What mattered was luck.

Even more strangely, the two missions were remarkably similar.

Both were searching for a spatial mage.

The first had been issued by the Empire of Light.

Its target was a high-rank spatial mage.

The reward alone was enough to make countless people lose their minds: a noble title, one million gold coins, and, according to rumor, an additional mysterious reward of extraordinary value.

The second mission had actually been issued by the Mages’ Guild Headquarters the previous evening.

They were searching for an intermediate-rank spatial mage.

No specific reward had been announced.

But considering the Mages’ Guild’s usual style, no one believed the compensation would be anything less than astonishing.

Yet even those rewards were not what truly drove the mercenaries mad.

Everyone was wondering the same thing.

What had the Mages’ Guild and the Empire of Light lost that could possibly justify issuing two SS-rank missions?

And there was another strange detail.

Neither mission asked for the spatial mage to be captured.

They merely wanted the person found.

That single distinction was enough to send imaginations racing.

Eventually, countless mercenaries arrived at the same conclusion.

One word began spreading from tavern to tavern, from mercenary company to adventuring party.

Divine artifact.

What else could possibly justify such an enormous reaction?

In less than half a day, several million mercenaries had already accepted the two SS-rank missions.

And the number was still rising at an astonishing rate.

The consequences were immediate.

Almost no one wanted to take ordinary missions anymore.

Even the simplest jobs were being ignored.

An E-rank mission to deliver a letter, for example, normally offered only a single silver coin and one guild contribution point.

Now, even after the payment had been raised to three silver coins, no one was willing to accept it.

Everyone was searching for the mysterious spatial mages.

Everyone dreamed of being the lucky person who stumbled across the clue that would change their life forever.

And meanwhile, the two people responsible for causing all this chaos—

Kent and Niuniu—

were sitting in the Underdark, staring at each other.

Kent’s expression was distinctly unpleasant.

Niuniu looked equally uncomfortable.

But between them was something even more astonishing.

Nestled in Kent’s arms was what appeared to be an infant.

The child was unmistakably a baby, with soft, rosy skin and a plump little face.

Yet from either side of her tiny body extended a pair of pure white wings.

The little baby snuggled peacefully against Kent’s chest, completely oblivious to the tension between the two people staring at each other.

Kent looked down at the infant.

Then he raised his eyes toward Niuniu.

His expression darkened even further.

Niuniu, meanwhile, looked utterly miserable.

Her clothes were torn almost beyond recognition, hanging from her body in ragged strips. Her face was pale, and her entire demeanor was weak and exhausted, as though she had just endured an exceptionally brutal battle.

Even so, when she saw the look in Kent’s eyes, she hurriedly tried to explain herself.

“I... I was afraid you wouldn’t help me.”

Her voice was unusually timid.

“So I went over there by myself.”

She glanced toward the winged infant in Kent’s arms.

“I used their light-element magic formation to bring her back to life.”

Niuniu looked at Kent almost pleadingly.

“Can’t you forgive me just this once?”