Chapter 229: I’m Taking My Hacks to the Underground City

Chapter 229: Chapter 229: I’m Taking My Hacks to the Underground City

These three points of base King’s Authority Value served as a guarantee.

This meant that from now on,

for any equipment with a Resistance Threshold less than or equal to three,

Lance could seize one hundred percent control just by touching the item in battle.

Besides this permanent base value,

the Protection also provided a consumption-based mechanic.

When facing equipment with a high threshold, Lance could burn his accumulated General Concept Reputation Value to temporarily gain a higher bonus for the check.

The current exchange rate was approximately 1,000 Reputation Value for 1 temporary point of King’s Authority Value.

As for the so-called General Concept Reputation Value,

its growth method was simple and crude.

It was entirely dependent on the events he caused in the Star Realm or the Material Realm.

As long as his deeds were widely spread and discussed by the world—even if it was all infamy and condemnation—

this value would naturally increase with the spread of his notoriety.

This meant

that as long as he could make his name spread like wildfire across the continent and generate enough buzz,

he could continuously reap a massive harvest of Reputation Value to keep in reserve.

When the time came,

as long as he had enough Reputation Value on hand,

even if he was facing a Divine Artifact held by someone else,

he could forcibly burn hundreds of thousands or even millions of Reputation Value and brute-force his way to snatching the Divine Artifact away!

At this thought,

Lance was instantly fired up about the upcoming Summer Crown in Gray Rock Town.

If he managed to win the championship in that Underground City, which would be packed with countless Adventurers,

not only would he receive generous rewards, but he might also have the chance to directly gain Legend in the Material Realm and rake in Reputation Value from the widespread discussion it would generate.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck him, and he thought of a crucial detail.

He quickly pulled up the panel again and reread the description for the Royal Armory, word by word.

His gaze fixed on the word "item."

’It doesn’t seem to specify that it has to be human-forged equipment...’

Lance stroked his chin, his heart beginning to race.

He had once heard Uncle Rein mention

that a special type of product existed within the Underground City.

Those things were called "Chaos Artifacts."

These artifacts were incredibly powerful but possessed a strong repulsive quality, making them unusable by any creature not from the Underground City.

Now, here was the question.

If the Royal Armory’s dispossession Effect also worked on these Chaos Artifacts,

then during the upcoming Summer Crown trial, whenever he encountered High Tier Demons wielding these special artifacts, he could just walk up and disarm them.

’Isn’t that basically like using a cheat in the Underground City?!’

As the distribution of the Protection’s rewards came to a complete end,

the light throughout the Star Realm Corridor began to dim rapidly.

The rules of the Star Realm started to take effect, and a gentle Repulsive Force enveloped Lance’s body.

The scene before him gradually blurred as his consciousness was pulled back to the Material Realm.

「In the Iris Flower Royal Capital.」

The highly anticipated royal Heroic Spirit Baptism had finally concluded.

As the massive Technique at the center of the Royal Prayer Hall ceased its operation,

the pillar of starlight that had enveloped the altar began to recede like a tide.

The eyes of the entire audience turned in unison toward the core of the Ritual Array.

When the light fully faded, all the invited nobles and dignitaries clearly saw the Princess who had returned from the baptism.

Everyone present, regardless of their allegiances, gasped.

They had witnessed countless Heroic Spirit Baptisms in this hall, but they had never seen a Trial Taker return in such a惨烈 state.

Elvira’s silver-blue Battle Skirt, custom-made for the ceremony, was now riddled with scorched holes and jagged tears.

In particular, the piece of Metal Armor on the maiden’s left shoulder had completely shattered.

Although the fatal physical wounds and ruptured organs she had suffered in the duel had been completely healed by the Star Realm’s protection the moment she was teleported back,

the tattered clothes still bore large patches of dried, blackened blood, silently speaking to just how perilous the trial in the Star Realm had been.

The Elder Sword Saint, Reinhardt, stood on the steps, his eyes fixed on the damage to Elvira’s left shoulder.

He had clearly sensed the struggle for the Treasure that had occurred in the Star Realm.

’Just what kind of monster could have pushed Her Highness to such a desperate state, even after she had activated her Red Dragon Form?’

’Could Her Highness have lost the final duel?’

But in the next second, the Elder Sword Saint’s knitted brow quickly relaxed.

Because he saw Elvira, at the center of the Array, slowly raise her head.

The maiden calmly extended her right hand, raising the back of her fair hand high.

Every High Tier Professional present clearly detected a vast Royal Energy within their Perception Domain.

On the back of Elvira’s hand, a Cross Sword Badge, sketched from intricate lines of golden Magic Power, gradually appeared.

As the badge shimmered, a radiant, ethereal King’s Choice Sword materialized out of thin air in her hand!

"That’s... the Protection of the Holy Sword!"

It was unclear who cried out first.

Immediately after, exclamations of awe erupted one after another from the vast spectator stands.

Regardless of whatever schemes and plots the old nobles were concocting in their minds, at this moment, they all had to rise to their feet.

Thundering applause echoed through the hall, all eyes converging on the young woman who had successfully earned the Founding Monarch’s acknowledgment.

But at the edge of the crowd,

only Cecilia stood alone, her hands clasped tightly before her chest, her gaze filled with worry as she watched her dear friend on the high platform.

Although the Princess’s injuries now seemed to have fully recovered,

thanks to her years of knowing her dear friend,

Cecilia still keenly caught the flicker of emptiness hidden in Elvira’s eyes.

It was the look of a lost child who had lost their way.

She could feel that Elvira’s very soul seemed to be wounded and curled up, weeping in silence.

And for that very reason,

at the celebratory banquet after the baptism, the Princess, who should have been the absolute star of the show, did not attend, citing exhaustion.

Cecilia didn’t join the festivities either.

She hurried through the long palace corridors and arrived at the depths of the Platinum Velvet Palace.

Pushing open the heavy oak doors,

Cecilia entered the Princess’s luxurious bedchamber.

The sight before her made the Half-Elf Maiden’s heart clench.

In all the years she had known Elvira, this was the first time she had ever seen her look so fragile and helpless.

The young woman had changed into a moon-white set of Royal Family pajamas woven from Ice Silk, the collar and cuffs adorned with intricate handmade lace, making her fair skin look even more delicate.

But at this moment, the maiden who had just received the Kingdom’s highest honor

was curled up like a rag doll in the corner of the large, soft velvet bed.

She had her arms wrapped around her legs, her small chin resting on her knees. Her unfocused green eyes stared blankly at the complex patterns of the Technique on the floor.

"What happened?"

Cecilia lightened her steps and walked to the bedside.

She sat down carefully on the edge of the bed and reached out, taking Elvira’s somewhat cold fingers in her own.

Hearing her friend’s call,

Elvira’s body trembled slightly.

She slowly turned her head, like a child who had been wronged and finally found someone to lean on, and gently rested her chin on Cecilia’s thin shoulder.

Cecilia instinctively wrapped her arms around her, pulling the other girl into her embrace.

"Cecilia..."

Elvira’s voice was thick with exhaustion.

"I ran into another Trial Taker in the trial."

"He defeated me..."

Hearing this, Cecilia was utterly shocked.

Her red eyes widened slightly, her face a mask of disbelief.

As far as she knew,

ever since they were children, Elvira had always been the most dazzling and unbeatable existence among their peers in the Royal Capital.

Due to her Red Dragon Bloodline and the strict tutelage of the Legendary Sword Saint,

Elvira’s combat prowess had long reached an absurd level.

Even some of the geniuses in the Knight Order, who were slightly older than them, couldn’t last more than a few moves against Elvira in a pure spar.

’I can’t believe it.’

’In the Heroic Spirit Baptism, where duels are fair fights between those of the same Class,’

’someone actually managed to defeat the Crimson Crown Dragon, the one whom the Legendary Sword Saint and the Royal Family poured all their resources into training!’

This was simply inconceivable.

But what surprised Cecilia even more was her next sentence.

Elvira leaned on her shoulder, pausing for a long time before she managed to force out her next words.

"I’ve fallen for him."

Elvira’s voice was choked with a sob.

"But... he’s also a Red Dragon."

The amount of information in that one sentence was simply too much for Cecilia to fully process at once.

Elvira could no longer control her suppressed emotions.

She buried her face deep in Cecilia’s shoulder, and warm tears streamed out like a bursting dam.

In that final life-or-death struggle in the Star Realm Canyon,

the man had cast off all his disguises amidst the swirling mist, revealing a Dragon Form that could only be described as perfect.

The dark-red scales that covered his entire body, those Dark Gold Vertical Pupils—

every detail proclaimed that he possessed the same pure Red Dragon Species bloodline that flowed within her.

Elvira cried out in silent agony in her heart.

’Why does fate have to be so cruel?’

’Why did it arrange for us to meet in such a fated duel?’

’And why did the man who could conquer me, who could make me fall for him completely, have to have the exact same bloodline as me!’