Chapter 507 331: A Dark Plot Brews

Levi nodded slightly, his eyes measuring the distance. 'Seventy paces? Not too far.'

After checking that no one was around, he bent his knees slightly and, with a gentle leap, his body became an arc as he soared across.

"Ah." Faced with such a height and distance, Ashiru couldn't help but let out a small gasp.

Fortunately, with a soft thud, the two of them landed safely atop the bell tower.

'Hmm? Still no reaction?' Looking at the inert Ring on his hand, Levi couldn't help but mutter to himself, wondering if Sivia had given him a fake.

Moreover, there was no sound of late-night weeping as Ashiru had described. He figured it was just a distorted rumor passed among the Maids; after all, the Royal Palace was bound to have a strange tale or two.

He didn't hesitate for long, continuing to the next location. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before he got the same expected result.

By now, he had circled half the Royal Palace, but the Ring on his hand hadn't shown the slightest reaction.

His gaze couldn't help but drift toward a church situated behind the Royal Palace.

The church wasn't particularly magnificent, but he felt an instinctual pull to check it out.

With his extraordinary power, he knew better than to think such an instinct was baseless.

The stronger a person was, the sharper their intuition tended to be.

In the words of that lousy Mage, Filo, the stronger a person became, the more their spirit and flesh attuned to the world, allowing them to see its true nature and perceive things ordinary people could not.

"What's that place over there, Ashvi?"

Ashvi, whose head was still spinning, took a long moment to come to her senses. Following Levi's gaze, she replied, "I heard that Father-King had it specially built for an Imperial Mage, for him to conduct research and delve into Magic."

'To have Harland build a palace just for him, he must have reached the Legendary Tier.'

Levi hesitated for a moment, but decided to go take a look anyway.

Before long, the Lord arrived in the garden in front of the church. It was dotted with shrubs and flowers, and a huge Bronze Gate was carved with intricate patterns.

His gaze was fixed on the church as if glued there. With his Holy Hall Level Cultivation, he could easily sense that it was filled with all sorts of powerful elemental fluctuations.

To someone of a sufficiently high Tier, these fluctuations were as conspicuous as a Giant Dragon. However, some sort of concealment method must have been used, because the moment he moved a certain distance away, the elemental fluctuations became completely undetectable.

Looking at the still-unresponsive Ring, Levi grew pensive. He wondered if this concealment was why it wasn't reacting and debated whether he should risk going in for a closer look.

"Who's there!"

Suddenly, he pulled Ashiru into his arms, his gaze fixed on a tree-lined path shrouded in darkness to their side.

A gaunt figure stepped out of the darkness, and a voice emerged along with him.

"You must be Lord Levi, I presume? I wonder what brings you here so late at night."

This was an old man in a Palace Mage Robe. He was very tall and abnormally gaunt, as if he were nothing but skin and bones. His withered, ancient face was completely devoid of expression.

'This is definitely a powerful Mage.' The man held a remarkable Magic Wand, and the vast, abyssal Magic Power within him was immeasurably stronger than Rillo's.

The Lord understood that this man must be the master of the church—the Legendary Mage.

"My sincerest apologies. I was trying to return to the banquet, but I got lost and somehow ended up here." Levi wasn't flustered in the slightest. He had already removed the black cloth from his face, revealing an impeccably polite smile.

He knew no one would believe him, but it didn't matter. Once he was discovered, words were pointless.

He calculated the distance between them. This Mage was undoubtedly many times stronger than Rillo, but with only ten paces separating them, Levi was confident he could cleave the man's skull with his sword before he could finish Casting.

Unless his opponent was strong enough to withstand a full-force blow from him—one delivered with his maxed-out Strength and Agility Attributes, and his Cultivation of the Holy Word Treasure Manual at the Holy Hall Level.

"Hmm. Outsiders are forbidden from wandering the Royal Palace at night. Lord Levi, if you wish to tour the palace, I suggest obtaining His Majesty's permission during the day. It would save you a great deal of trouble."

To the Lord's surprise, the man simply nodded without further questions. "To return to the banquet hall, follow this path to the end. The Guards will show you the way."

"Thank you." Levi nodded and left, taking with him Ashiru, who hadn't dared to utter a word the entire time.

Only after their figures had vanished completely into the darkness did a series of cold whispers suddenly arise in the old man's garden.

"Why didn't you act?"

"He's very strong."

"How strong?"

"I used the Half-position Prophecy Technique just before to see what would happen if we fought... I saw you die."

"And you?"

"That's why I could only see *you* die!"

"Was he here for Rillo?"

"Impossible. No one could know I did it. Not even the Pope of Talisi."

"It seems that Silver Dragon bitch has found out what we're doing. We need to be more careful."

"Relax. She can't get in here."

"An unprecedented turmoil is coming. We must seize this opportunity."

"Mmm..."

The whispers fell into darkness along with the closing of the church doors, just like a conspiracy bred in the shadows.

...

"Phew, that scared me to death."

Once they were clear of the church, Ashiru began panting, her face pale.

"For a moment there, I thought you two were going to fight."

She might be a bit slow, but even she could tell that the atmosphere had been wrong. The air had felt so heavy she could barely breathe, as if she had been thrown into the bottomless Storm Sea, surrounded by darkness.

The Lord paid Ashiru no mind, silently stroking the Ring on his hand.

The moment the old Mage appeared, the Ring had flashed with an almost imperceptible light. This proved there was a connection to the Bronze Dragon Sivia had spoken of; it was just hidden extremely well.

Levi shook his head. 'Since there's a connection to the Bronze Dragon, the rest is none of my business. I'll leave the headache to Sivia. I have no intention of wading into these muddy waters.'

"By the way, Lord Levi, I swear in the name of the Holy Light Goddess to bury everything that happened tonight deep in my heart until the day I die." Ashiru suddenly raised three fingers, her small face a picture of solemn gravity.

The events of tonight were the most bizarre and wondrous things she had ever experienced, so she assumed Levi would want them kept secret from the world.

"That won't be necessary." Levi waved a hand. "This is actually quite simple to resolve."

Before Ashiru could ask how, the Lord turned and headed for the banquet hall.

"The banquet should be starting soon. Let's head back."

Just as he had said, by the time they returned to the banquet, everyone had arrived.

Upon entering, Ashiru took the initiative to separate from him, afraid her presence might cause unnecessary trouble for Levi. The Lord didn't object.

In the center of the hall, two gorgeously dressed Princesses sat in the seats of honor. They were the stars of tonight's banquet.

One by one, nobles came forward to introduce themselves, boasting of their talents in the hope of catching a Princess's eye and winning her hand in marriage.

Just then, a young man with brown hair was speaking to one of the Princesses with earnest sincerity:

"If you choose me as your husband, your life will remain one of abundance, and I will protect you day and night..."

"Protect?"

Unfortunately, he was interrupted before he could finish.

"With that Goblin-like height of yours?" a tall, golden-haired young man sneered.

His words immediately drew a wave of laughter from the surrounding nobles.

Anything associated with Goblins was considered the highest form of insult. The young man's face alternated between red and white. Just as he decided to swallow the humiliation and leave, the mocking voice struck again.