Chapter 171: A Brother's Call

Inside the highest Mage Tower directly under the Council's jurisdiction, Merlin Heavenly Principle sat at his desk, frowning as he flipped through a stack of documents.

Casualties on the Blood War Battlefield were far too high this year.

Knock, knock, knock!

At that moment, someone rapped on the half-open door.

"Come in."

Merlin Heavenly Principle did not even lift his head. Long before Denise Clive stopped outside, the strongest mage in Nordhill—a man bordering on the divine—already knew who was there.

The female mage smoothed her hair and pushed the door open.

"Speaker, I've come to report the results of our investigation into the massive demonic energy surge."

Merlin set down his quill and rubbed his temples, treating the report as a momentary break.

Denise continued,

"According to Councilor Amos, a Bano Flame Demon named Ogresa broke free from his seal. Amos happened to be in Kumlinge and hurried over to fight him."

Merlin pondered the name Ogresa. He finally remembered seeing it in an ancient text. Thirteen thousand years ago, four great Abyssal lords had joined forces to invade Nordhill, and the Flame Demon Lord Ogresa was a subordinate to one of them.

In the Bottomless Abyss, only those who conquered an entire plane were recognized as legitimate Abyssal lords. Some planes, however, were trapped in endless stalemates among multiple factions. The Flame Demon Lord Ogresa was exactly that kind of powerful, territorial demon.

Wait, if I remember correctly, this guy's lair is on Layer 132 of the Abyss. Isn't that the territory of a certain commander on the Blood War Battlefield!

He wondered what kind of expression the Flame Demon Lord Ogresa would make upon returning, only to find his lair occupied and the entire plane unified.

That should cause some trouble for a certain someone. Imagining the crisis in that particular entity's backyard, Merlin flashed a wicked smile.

Denise had no idea Merlin's thoughts had wandered so far. Seeing his gloating expression, she felt utterly bewildered, but she proceeded to take out the Balrog Horn.

"Lord Amos also snapped off one of the demon's horns."

Merlin stared at the massive, severed half of the Demon Horn the female mage produced, shock rippling through his heart.

A powerful, territorial demon like this was on the same level as the Grand Duke Silver Dragon.

Even if ten thousand years of imprisonment had drastically diminished the Flame Demon Lord's strength, he was still not something an ordinary legendary practitioner could handle, let alone sever one of his horns.

In that case, the White Dragon already possessed combat power at the High-Tier Legendary Level.

Merlin leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers, suppressing his shock as his thoughts raced.

A moment later, the female mage spoke up.

"Speaker, how should we wrap this matter up?"

Merlin Heavenly Principle finally snapped out of his daze, remembering that they needed a public resolution for the incident.

"Hmm... Councilor Amos has performed a great service in driving away the demon. Reward him with ten thousand points."

Ten thousand points could almost be exchanged for a slightly lower-quality piece of Legendary equipment. By that calculation, she had not let Amos suffer much of a loss. The female mage felt quite satisfied.

"Understood!"

The female mage took her leave.

Merlin Heavenly Principle leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin in amusement. The moment he laid eyes on the Balrog Horn, the old mage—who had lived for over a thousand years—had instantly guessed the entire sequence of events.

"That cunning fellow actually knows how to bribe an investigator."

Though he understood clearly, Merlin Heavenly Principle was not about to expose it. This was an unspoken rule.

The larger an organization grew, the more complicated its internal webs of interest became. Unspoken rules were unwritten laws; while distasteful, they served as a major safeguard for maintaining unity within the ranks.

"No, I can't let that guy off so easily."

Merlin stroked his white beard, pondering how he could put White Castle to use.

While a crime without evidence was no crime at all, as long as he arranged a reasonable "mission" within the framework of the organization, a certain guilty-conscienced dragon surely wouldn't refuse such a glorious opportunity to contribute.

While the female mage had been giving her report, the members of the legendary squad had also transmitted the intelligence they had gathered to their respective backing factions through various channels.

In the southern part of the continent, inside a massive imperial palace, a middle-aged man in luxurious jujube-red robes sat in an incense-filled study. After listening to the report from the black-clad figure kneeling below him, he muttered to himself.

"Uncle Samaranch really found an excellent investment target."

The emperor of the Bolton Dynasty, the strongest empire on the continent, picked up a yellowish-red fruit from his desk and took a bite.

The very first time he tried the Return-Fragrance Fruit imported from the Overseas Archipelago, he was conquered by its endlessly lingering flavor.

The Imperial Emperor tilted his head, a conflicted look on his face.

"Should I send someone to make contact?"

Holy City — Lanora.

Lanora was the headquarters of the church of the God of Justice and Light, Nodashan, in Nordhill.

Inside the sacred, milky-white hall, the sun spilled soft rays through the dome, casting slanted light across exquisite pillars carved with reliefs of angels.

In the center of the hall, a white-haired old man in a milky-white robe trimmed with gold knelt before the towering divine statue at the far end, praying in a low voice.

At that moment, a handsome paladin in magnificent armor pushed the doors open, strode inside, and stood respectfully behind the archbishop.

After a long while, the archbishop finished his prayers, stood up, and walked toward the door.

"What happened?"

Following behind the man he respected most, the paladin spoke in a grave voice.

"Your Eminence, the Flame Demon Lord Ogresa has broken his seal and fled back to the Abyss."

The elderly archbishop's brow furrowed deeply in distress.

"What is the situation?"

"It's like this... Your Eminence, what should we do?"

"This White Dragon stands on Nordhill's side. Let us observe him for a time."

...

Within two hours, the leaders of every influential organization in Nordhill received intelligence reports with nearly identical content.

The reactions varied from faction to faction, but all of them elevated their estimation of the White Dragon Lord by a tier.

Meanwhile, the subject of all this attention, the White Dragon Lord Amos, was busy carving a magic array in the monster army's temporary camp in the central region of Kumlinge.

Elena had once used this kind of magic array to contact the Silver Dragon Scholar and summon reinforcements.

Amos planned to use the same method, relying on the magic array and the power of his dragon true name to send a message to Elena, who was far away in the Nine Eyes Alliance.

The magic array activated smoothly. Using half of a dragon true name, Amos transmitted a message to the Druid Dragon, Elena.

Although this method of transmitting information through the power of a true name required a magic array and involved rather tedious steps, its advantage lay in its absolute stability and security. No matter where the recipient was, they would receive the message.

Inside a cave in the Elven Forest, Elena groggily opened her eyes.

"Amos is calling me?!"