Chapter 212: The Return of Merlin Heavenly Principle

The tide of darkness descended from the heavens once more. Within Sky City, the defenders continued to rely on the dimensional barrier to hold it back.

With several layers of the dimensional barrier still intact, the council members repelled the attack with far less effort.

After this played out two more times, the High Priest began to question his existence.

The Nordhill Guardian Council had ruled this massive plane for over ten thousand years, directly or indirectly controlling countless minor realms and sub-planes.

The sheer depth of the council's resources far exceeded anyone's imagination.

As the High Priest stared down at the completely unscathed Sky City, terror gripped his heart. A cold chill washed over him the moment he remembered the Soul Contract he had signed.

Very few could ever renege on a debt owed to a demon.

Suddenly, the High Priest grasped at a desperate lifeline.

That's it! It's rare, but people have escaped demonic retribution before!

With my strength, they will definitely be willing to take me in!

The fear of death triumphed over all else. The High Priest rapidly chanted an incantation, and a purple portal materialized behind him.

Glaring down at Sky City, the High Priest let out a hateful roar.

"Samiria! I will return!"

Suddenly, an icy voice echoed behind him.

"If you plan on returning, then there's no need to leave."

The High Priest shuddered. Without a second thought, he lunged for the portal.

The newly freed Merlin Heavenly Principle simply raised a hand. A transparent ray of energy shot from his fingertip.

The High Priest barely had half a foot through the gateway before the thumb-thick ray closed the distance in a flash, striking the swirling purple portal.

Disrupted by the powerful energy, the portal instantly collapsed.

"Ah!"

Spatial forces sheared off more than half of the High Priest's foot. Dark red blood sprayed from the stump, raining down upon the earth.

Even a cornered rabbit will bite. The High Priest spun around, ready to risk his life in a desperate final clash against Merlin Heavenly Principle.

A ring on Merlin Heavenly Principle's finger flared brightly, enveloping both figures in intense light.

Down in the Mage Tower, the White Dragon Lord watched the intense light fade, noting that both men had vanished.

The White Dragon Lord recalled an obscure piece of legendary magic recorded in an old tome—the Colosseum. This niche spell created an isolated, sealed space; the only way to escape it was to eliminate one's opponent.

At that moment, Grand Duke Silver Dragon's relaxed voice rang out in everyone's minds.

"Alright, everyone. This war is over!"

The White Dragon Lord let out a sigh of relief. Withdrawing his claws from the Control Orb, he exited his omniscient viewpoint.

Although the battle had lasted less than an hour, it was the most dangerous conflict the White Dragon Lord had ever experienced. A single misstep could have meant instant death.

Fortunately, it was finally over!

The White Dragon Lord left the Mage Tower and flew toward the open-air platform of Sky City.

Many council members had already gathered on the platform. They clustered together, chatting and laughing cheerfully over various topics, though all shared a single purpose—awaiting the return of Merlin Heavenly Principle.

With an event of this magnitude having just concluded, Merlin Heavenly Principle was bound to convene an important meeting upon his return. It would be a gathering that would decide the course of the Nordhill Continent for centuries to come.

Upon landing on the platform, the White Dragon Lord easily spotted the Silver Dragon Scholar in the crowd. He also noticed the Drow Elf from their previous meeting—Feik Darkdagger.

Feik Darkdagger stood alone near the edge of the platform. The Drow Elf looked entirely out of place among the wider group, though to be fair, he had never fit in to begin with.

The White Dragon Lord cast a peculiar glance at the Drow Elf. Keeping his questions to himself for the moment, he smiled and went over to greet the Silver Dragon Scholar.

"Hey! Senior Jetesla! How was the trip to the Dark Lands? Exciting?"

Hearing the White Dragon's teasing, the Silver Dragon Scholar flushed with embarrassment.

"Don't even mention it," he said, clearing his throat. "The moment we arrived at the dark elf city, we were trapped in a magical array by the Spider Queen's priestesses. If the Council Speaker hadn't turned the tide, I'm afraid we would have perished down there."

The White Dragon Lord then listened as the Silver Dragon Scholar explained the whole story.

The Spider Queen had struck a deal with a certain entity in the Abyss. Catching the council forces completely off guard, she had lured them into a trap and sealed them inside a magical array.

Of course, if Merlin Heavenly Principle hadn't been so powerful, they wouldn't have just been trapped—it would have been a slaughter.

Since only the goddess's priestesses were involved in the betrayal, the ordinary Drow Elves had remained completely in the dark. That was the main reason Feik Darkdagger was still allowed to stand on the platform.

After chatting for a while, the White Dragon Lord realized something was amiss. Grand Duke Silver Dragon was nowhere to be seen. He was just about to ask the Silver Dragon Scholar about it when—

Suddenly, a profound ripple of magical energy surged through the sky.

Merlin Heavenly Principle appeared alone in the heavens above. The fate of the Demon Church's High Priest went without saying.

After all, he was a supreme lord mage capable of going toe-to-toe with a veteran Abyssal Lord!

Wearing a faint smile, Merlin Heavenly Principle descended toward the gathered crowd. His voice echoed across the entirety of Sky City.

"Everyone! The path was perilous, but the outcome is perfect. We are victorious!"

Thunderous applause erupted across Sky City. As the forces that had traveled to the Dark Lands returned, the news quickly began to spread: the council had achieved a complete victory in the Dark Lands. The Demon Church's elites had suffered catastrophic casualties, and in Samiria, their forces were nearly wiped out altogether.

After suffering such a devastating blow, the influence of the Demon Church had been severely crippled. For the next five hundred years, they wouldn't dare crawl out of the shadows to cause trouble again.

Nordhill was about to usher in a long era of peace.

...

Inside the assembly hall of Samiria's highest Mage Tower, over thirty council members gathered together. Although the immediate threat of the Demon Church had been resolved, there was still an enormous mess left for the council to clean up.

Sitting at the head of the table, Merlin Heavenly Principle officially commenced the meeting.

"Now, moving on to our first topic of the day—the handling of the Drow Elves, and the matter of the Spider Queen's faith within Nordhill."

The first topic caused a massive stir among the crowd, though no one was genuinely surprised.

Anything involving the faith of a deity was no small matter. Believers were the very foundation of a deity's survival; forcefully exterminating a god's faith was an outright declaration of war.

No deity would ever tolerate such a provocation.

However, the Spider Queen had aided the Demon Church and ruthlessly backstabbed the council. The council could not tolerate such behavior either; they were bound to strike back with equal force.

Merlin Heavenly Principle swept his gaze across the room and spoke.

"Does anyone have a proposal?"

After a moment of silence, an elven council member spoke up.

"Everyone, Nordhill already has more than enough enemies in the Abyss. Provoking an evil deity with Intermediate Divine Power will put our comrades on the Blood War Battlefield at a severe disadvantage. Please consider this carefully."

Everyone frowned in deep thought. The elven council member had spoken nothing but the truth.

Are we supposed to just let this go?!