Badge in Azure

The Grukos sorcerers taught Saleen a vivid lesson: the best tactic is overwhelming your enemies with sheer numbers. While there were some differences between a mage’s and a holy master’s combat capacity, it was not something overwhelming. At present, the mages of the Grukos were practically slaughtering the holy masters.

Jalin vented her frustration and anger for a bit and retreated, heading back to her teacher. Arbola did not chastise her for using equipment and skills haphazardly. She simply looked on quietly as her elders continued to wear on the holy masters one by one.

Her personal guards had not yet arrived. Even with the help of elemental creatures, it would be difficult to traverse the camp.

Saleen was reluctant to miss such an interesting battle and kept his eyes on the battlefield, analyzing the moves of the Grukos sorcerers, seeing how they coordinated with each other and what the tactical plan for the whole thing was.

“Stop!” A voice was heard from the sky above. A blindingly strong light burst from the moon, shining light onto the area for tens of miles. A huge figure appeared high in the air.

Arbola smirked. Theisio sure is late. About half of the top forces of his army has already been destroyed. What can he do even if he has a godly item with him now? He could bring all three godly items to bear and they wouldn’t be a match for the mark of the Six-winged Flying Snake in my hand.

Saleen quickly came behind Arbola. Theisio appeared high in the sky and even though Saleen had never seen him in person before, he would knew that it was the pope of the Holy See.

The Bramble Crown on Theisio’s head shone and was definitely the most blinding light that Saleen had ever laid eyes on.

The Divine Baby might have been powerful, but her aura was reserved. The holy light before him seemed to be capable of seeping into any pore it found. Saleen put on the Water Shield at full power, resulting in crackling lightning patterns on it shimmering, before he was he was able to resist the holy light’s invasion.

That was just the result of Theisio not having actually used any divine spells yet. Saleen knew that he was no match for Theisio unless the pope allowed him to get near, enabling him to use his Eye of Lightning on the pope.

Saleen could not help but feel frustrated. He was a mage, yet he was forced to fight like an assassin.

“Theisio, you’re late,” Arbola rose to midair and blocked Theisio. The pope glared at Arbola, the God Grace Staff in his hand.

“You! How can you leave Golden Plains!?”

“Said the one who came all the way here to Qin’s territory. Long time no see, Theisio, you look a lot older,” Arbola continued her meaningless chatter. Yet another level nine holy master was surrounded and slaughtered while she was talking.

Theisio’s expression was incredibly gloomy. He looked at the young-looking face of Arbola and felt envious. Even with all three oracles casting divine spells on him, Theisio’s appearance still looked as if he was in his sixties. Arbola, on the other hand, was more than three times older than him, yet she looked like she was in her early thirties.

“God has decreed that on Myers Mainland, there would be stopping the light of God. Arbola, the survival of the Grukos now rests with your choice.” Theisio saw the last holy master getting ganged up on and knew that it was too late to save them. As such, he did nothing instead, and simply aimed any light that managed to escape Arbola at Saleen, who was standing behind Arbola.

Saleen smirked at him. He did not even bother concealing the killing intent behind the pair of blue eyes.

“Theisio, are you going to just sit by while your people are getting killed? You call that god’s decree?” Arbola took jabs at him while holding the mark of the Six-winged Flying Snake in her hand.

The mark that was in her hand was totally different from when Saleen held it.

The golden mark shone with a jade-like sheen. There were six protruding carvings and nine life-like six-winged flying snakes on the surface of the mark. The nine snakes’ bodies were translucent, and within every snake’s body, there was a red thread moving about.

The seals on the mark of the Six-winged Flying Snake had all been undone and the mark had came to live.

Saleen gulped and he felt himself suffering quite a loss there. The ring in his hand could not compare to the mark of the Six-winged Flying Snake, no matter how powerful it was. It was a pity that the mark could only be used by people with the blood of the Grukos coursing through their veins. It was little more than an indestructible brick in his hand.

Theisio looked at the mark in Arbola’s hand and felt wary. The Holy See had much intel on the Grukos, but none of it was able to make Theisio feel that it was accurate.

For instance, the mark of the Six-winged Flying Snake. Some powerful ones from the clan would make copies of the mark and seal level nine six-winged flying snakes in them. In the scrolls found in the Holy See, the equipment was described to be a level ten equipment, which meant that while the mark was created using level nine materials, it packed a punch of level ten.

The mark in Arbola’s hand was the original one, which had been used by the founding emperor of Qin all those years ago.

All the rumors about the equipment were little more than just hearsay. When the Qin emperor founded his empire, having fought for over a hundred years to do so, he was very reserved with his use of the mark. All those who had seen him use the equipment were dead, leaving no reliable information behind.

“Arbola, do you really think that the gods are humanity’s enemies?” Theisio asked all of a sudden. There was no army within a mile radius from Arbola, and Theisio’s question was totally unbefitting of his status as the pope.

“Huh? You’re saying that they’re not?” Arbola felt the question to be peculiar. Theisio had been the most devout adherent that she had ever seen, yet the words sounded like blasphemy.

Theisio looked at Arbola’s young face and sighed. That mage has the sturdiest mind I’ve ever seen. I could have been a god and I probably wouldn’t be able to convince her otherwise.

When Arbola was young, she had broken through the limit of level nine before she reached 30, exceeding even golden grand swordmasters in abilities. Arbola had been proud and arrogant. When she was making her pilgrimage, she went about her business in high-profile ways, making quite a number of enemies along the way. She ended up being surrounded by tens of powerful ones and stripped of her sword aura.

The people did not kill Arbola. One would have been as good as a thorough cripple when their sword aura was completely destroyed. No one would have thought that Arbola would go on to study magic when she returned to Golden Plains, quickly becoming a level nine sorcerer. No one knew when she had actually advanced to level ten, but the last time Arbola left Golden Plains, she did so to kill everyone who had ganged up on her before. She was still level nine back then.

The woman became Lord Chief of the Grukos about a hundred years ago. As per the treaties forged between the nations, she had never left Golden Plains ever since.

It was insane to think that one could be able to convince a genius with such resilience of mind that they would study magic after losing everything with words alone.

“Looks like I’ll have to do it the hard way then!” Theisio shook the God Grace Staff lightly and covered Arbola and the two behind her, Saleen and Jalin, with light that was even more dazzling.

Saleen felt his Water Shield practically pressing on his body. If it had not been for the lightning magic patterns shimmering, the Water Shield would have shattered.

The peach blossom flower on Jalin’s face turned bright red, as if it was about to bleed. Arbola snorted lightly and the mark of the Six-winged Flying Snake in her hand cast a huge, squarish space, enveloping all three of them within.

There was only white light left outside the space created by the mark. The dazzling light was even more terrifying than the poisons that Saleen had concocted, corroding the space created by the mark.

Arbola’s expression said that she was hardly surprised, as if she knew that that would have happened. She then said, “So this is the Realm of Light then, Theisio? It is weaker than I thought it would have been. You only have two of the three godly items with you, no?”

Theisio’s face changed within that boundless light. “How did you know that?”

Saleen hesitated for a bit before saying, “She didn’t know. I did.”

“You?” Theisio’s eyes pierced through the space created by the mark and fixed on Saleen. The one who had been a thorn in his side looked to be at the pinnacle of level nine powers as well. According to the rumors pertaining to the mage, he had quite an arsenal of equipment, and was not one to be trifled with.

“The Seal of Divine Power is still in the Holy See. It’s just that you don’t know who is the holding it,” Saleen smirked.

“Impossible!”

“I swear on the name of the elements.”

“Who took the Seal of Divine Power?” Theisio asked. His voice seemed to have some peculiar powers. The space created by the mark shook as a result.

Saleen had been prepared for it, sending thunderous rumble in his mind, negating the prophecy spell, but he overdid it and rendered himself dizzy for a bit.

He shook his head for a bit and laughed.

“Hahaha, Theisio, I really would love to tell you and have your people in the Holy See tear each other apart, but it’s more fun to have you guess who took it.”

Jalin was unable to help but laugh as well. Saleen is one hell of a rascal.

Arbola felt peculiar. The mark of the Six-winged Flying Snake had been an incredibly mystical item. If she were to put defense at full power, not even a greater prophecy spell would be able to affect them. Furthermore, she did not cover Saleen at all and had simply let Theisio’s voice enter Saleen’s mind. She wanted to see what was Saleen holding in his sleeves.

However, Saleen was simply rendered dizzy for a bit, before completely dispelling the greater prophecy spell’s control.

Admittedly, Arbola would have had a hard time dealing with a greater prophecy spell if she did not have the mark of the Six-winged Flying Snake with her. Theisio was also a level ten holy master, which meant that his greater prophecy spell’s power would have been way larger than the ones cast by level nine holy masters.

Theisio was even more surprised. While he had only advanced to level ten not long ago, it was unthinkable for him to slip when dealing with a level nine sorcerer. The greater prophecy spell had been successfully casted, yet it had no effect on Saleen whatsoever.

It is no wonder that there was a divine omen specifically meant for the mage. If he were to be allowed to grow, he would have turned into a jinx to all holy masters.

Arbola was perceptive enough to catch onto Theisio’s weakness. “So Theisio, it seems like you have just advanced, and yet you dare show up here at the Qin Empire. You really have no idea where you stand, do you?”

A change took place within the mark in her hand. The nine snakes circled the huge mark, as if they were levitating in mid-air. Countless magic runes spread from the mark of the Six-winged Flying Snake, expanding the space and absorbing Theisio inside.

The light from the pope’s God Grace Staff was snuffed out immediately.

Theisio could not believe it. While it was true that he had just advanced, the God Grace Staff was still a level 15 godly item, a piece of equipment bestowed by the Lord of Glory solely for the pope. The light of the God Grace Staff was something that not even the oracles would have been able to cast.

The nine snakes expanded thousands of times and lashed out at Theisio.