Outside the Imperial Pce, Leon stood calmly atop Athena''s dragon head, his gaze fixed indifferently on the familiar pce.
"It''s been a long time," he muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly.
It had been several months since he''d been exposed to the devouring poison and left the pce. Though it wasn''t his home, it held many memories.
Leon took a deep breath, suppressing his emotional turmoil, before whispering, "Once I kill Velix and strip him of power, my grudge will finally be settled."
Holding a grudge was draining, and he longed to end it as soon as possible. Only then could he focus on his true goals: engaging with the hidden races and preparing for the battle against the Evil God.
He looked down, then sat up slowly and patted Athena''s head gently. "Athena, let''s go down and meet Velix inside. It''s time to settle this."
Athena nodded softly, replying, "Yes, Leon."
She then pped her wings and began to descend but was abruptly halted by a loud explosion echoing from the pce ahead.
*Whoosh!*
Pirs of white light erupted from the four corners of the pce, piercing the sky. At the same time, a massive magic circle materialized above the capital, extending to the city''s edge.
*Buzz!*
In an instant, the magic circle red brightly, forming a solid, dome-like barrier that enveloped the entire capital.
Leon''s eyes widened, his heart racing.
"Not good! Velix is trying to iste the capital and the Imperial Pce! We need to get inside now!" Leon shouted.
He immediately summoned his holy power, bending his legs to leap forward, but was suddenly halted when Athena pped her wings and flew backward. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire
"Athena!? What are you doing!?" Leon eximed, stunned.
"Don''t be reckless, Leon. It''s too dangerous!" Athena replied coldly, continuing her retreat.
*Whoosh!*
A red magic circle appeared above the Imperial Pce, glowing with light as it formed another barrier dome around it.
Athena gradually slowed her movement and fixed her cold gaze on the red dome.
"If you''d gone in earlier, you would''ve been seriously injured. The magic circle contains high-level and ancient magic, designed to prevent anyone from breaking in," Athena exined calmly, leaving Leon frozen in ce.
He hadn''t anticipated the presence of high-level and ancient magic embedded in the red dome, and he felt truly regretful for having misunderstood her.
"I''m sorry, Athena. I was careless earlier," Leon said earnestly.
"It''s okay, Leon. Don''t worry," Athena replied gently.
Leon took a deep breath and gave a small nod. "So, what do we do now? Should we try to destroy the barrier''s magic?"
ording to ancient records, the capital of the Holy Empire of Elysium, Astralyn, was protected by numerous magic circles.
These were said to have been created by the Great Mages of Mankind from various eras, and the magic they harnessed was incredibly powerful.
Even ancient-level magic couldn''t break them. Of course, that was just a rumor, as Leon had never seen these circles activated before.
Athena didn''t answer immediately. Herrge red eyes studied the red dome intently, as if analyzing the magic circuits within.
A momentter, she looked away and shook her head.
"No, Leon. Those magic circles can''t be destroyed. They''re embedded in the very structure of the capital. If we try to break them, the entire city will copse," Athena replied seriously. "And the red dome itself is extremely powerful. Even I would find it difficult to destroy."
Leon frowned at her first words but was stunned by the next.
"What do you mean? You can''t even destroy it?" Leon asked, disbelief clear in his voice.
Athena was powerful, and the nature magic she disyed in the previous battle against the ck dragon was proof of that. Yet now, she was saying she couldn''t destroy the red dome—something Leon found hard to ept.
"Yes, I can''t destroy it easily. To do so, I''d need to use extremely powerful nature magic. However, that would have a catastrophic impact on the entire capital. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say the result would be theplete destruction of the city," Athena exined casually.@@novelbin@@
Leon was stunned for a moment before sitting down helplessly. "If trying to destroy those magic circles means destroying the capital, then it''s better not to."
His reluctance to destroy the city was driven by the fear of future losses. Astralyn was a highly developed city, with infrastructure built over thousands of years.
If the city were destroyed, the cost of rebuilding would be immense—and it would be something Arshley would struggle to manage.
"Well, don''t worry too much, Leon. Activating those magic circles is definitely Velix''sst resort, and maintaining them will drain a lot of mana. We just need to wait until he reaches his limit," Athena said in a reassuring tone.
Leon gave a small nod and asked, "How long do you think Velix can maintain those magic circles?"
Athena paused for a moment, her red eyes narrowing as she stared at the Imperial Pce. "About fifteen minutes, maybe twenty-five at most."
"Long enough, huh?" Leon rubbed his chin, then nodded slightly and closed his eyes. "No problem. We''ll wait. If Velix manages tost longer, I''ll just chalk it up to luck."
...
Outside the capital, the rebel army, engaged in battle with the monsters, was shocked to see a massive magic circle appear in the sky.
Before they could react, a dome-shaped barrier materialized, enveloping the entire capital as if to iste it.
"Damn it! What''s going on? Why is there a dome over the whole capital?" One soldier shed at a monster approaching from his left but then froze, staring at the sight.
Hisrades were equally astonished, exchanging puzzled looks with one another.
"It''s a barrier magic designed to protect the capital from enemy attacks. Holy Emperor Velix must have been desperate and activated it to hold us back."
Albert''s voice cut through the confusion, and many soldiers finally understood the origin of the dome.
"In that case, does that mean we can''t enter the capital at all?" one soldier asked, stabbing a monster in the heart before turning to Albert, uncertainty in his eyes.
Albert drew his sword and swiftly cut down the three monsters lunging at him from the right, left, and front.
He then nced at the soldier and nodded slightly. "It seems that way. The barrier dome is incredibly powerful, and I''ve heard that even ancient magic can''t break it."
His words left the soldiers around him dumbfounded, exchanging looks of dread.
Meanwhile, Valen and Luna, who were still fighting monsters nearby, couldn''t hide their shock at the sight of the white dome.
Luna struck a monster lunging at her from the left, then locked her gaze on the towering barrier dome.
"Is this Velix''sst resort?" she murmured.
She had read about the powerful magic circles that protected the Imperial Capital and the pce from enemy attacks. Now, seeing them in person, she could feel the sheer horror of the barrier.
"Do you think we can destroy it?" Valen asked, his curiosity piqued.
Luna shook her head. "No, we can''t. The barrier dome is ancient magic, seeded by the Great Mages of Mankind from different eras, and it''s extraordinarily powerful."
"Oh?" Instead of being deterred, Valen''s spirit seemed to re. "Well, now I''m even more eager to try."
As soon as he finished speaking, Valen''s holy power erupted, creating a massive storm around him.
Luna immediately called upon her own holy power to brace against the powerful waves radiating from Valen, staring at him in disbelief.
"You insane fool! Do you really n to attack it?" Luna demanded angrily.
"Hehehe! Of course! I''m dying to see how strong this barrier really is," Valen replied casually.
Without another word, Valen vanished from sight and reappeared right in front of the dome''s barrier.
The entire army watched in shock as his figure hovered above the sky.
"Isn''t that Spear Hero Valen? What is he doing?"
"Could he be trying to destroy the barrier?"
"I think so."
Many soldiers spected, trying to guess Valen''s intentions as he appeared before the barrier dome.
Valen floated proudly, holding the Holy Spear of Soaring Dragon in his right hand.
"I want to test the strength of this barrier magic," he dered eagerly.
*Buzz!*
The Holy Spear of Soaring Dragon gleamed with a fiery red light, spreading over his entire body.
Valen now looked like a fire god descending from the heavens, ready to scorch everything in his path.
"Hero Technique: Breaking The Limit!"
The red aura red even brighter, and Valen thrust his spear toward the barrier with incredible speed.
*Bang!*
The impact of the attack produced a deafening explosion, but the barrier remainedpletely intact.
*Bang! Bang!*
Valen''s figure vanished and reappeared at different points along the barrier, delivering blow after blow. Yet, just like before, the barrier showed no signs of damage, leaving Valen both stunned and frustrated.
"Tsk! This barrier really is as strong as Luna said," Valen muttered. "But I refuse to believe it can''t be destroyed!"
He vanished again and appeared a hundred meters away from the barrier.
His eyes zed with white light, and the Hero''s Destiny formed on his forehead, glowing brightly.
Valen raised the Holy Spear of Soaring Dragon, preparing his next move.
"Hero Technique—"
Before he could finish, a sharp shout echoed in his mind.
"Valen, you idiot! What the hell are you doing!? Don''t you dare attack the barrier!"
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A/N: Ahem! I originally nned to update two chapters, but I just remembered I have something to do this weekend. So, I can only update one for now.
As a littlepensation, I''ll give a free monthly code to my wonderful and handsome readers. Here''s the code: <ABDHY8Q3QVT3NA56A>.
Thank you!