Chapter 279 - Empress Una's Call
[DragonHero293: You want to ride a dragon? Do you think anyone can ride a dragon, let alone the city\'s guardian? You must be dreaming.]
[AlbionBlack37: I don\'t need to be criticized by someone like you. Where were you when our city\'s guardian needed help, hm?]
[MaskedVigilante07: Guys, I found out one of the identities of the two people that left with the city\'s guardian! His name is Albion Black!]
[Albionblack37: It was me? How come I don\'t know this? *Shocked*]
[MaskedVigilante07: No, not you! You\'re just an imposter! If everyone searches for the latest news in the past week or two, everyone will realize this Albion Black is, more or less, related in all of them.]
[DigBickHero78: Wow, it\'s true! I remember now! It\'s him, Bawles the Ripper!]
As heated discussions filled the online forums, Albion Black\'s identity began to surface as people dug old news and compiled his information.
"Who is this Albion Black person? Up until a week ago, it was like this person had never existed."
"Even the Hunter World\'s database has little information on this person. Either that or our authority is too low to access his information."
"For such a strong person not to be recorded on the Hunter Ranking List… Perhaps, he is a hermit who has just descended the mountains from one of those Ancient Sects?"
"Oh? This person was seen with Emperor Polemos previously. Members of Emperor Polemos\'s faction are all mysterious and hidden. Albion Black could be part of the emperor\'s faction."
"He could be, or he could not be. With the recent emergence of the Dark Lord, there\'s a chance that he could even be the Dark Lord himself."
Gossips, rumors, and discussions filled the streets of Silvercove City as people speculated about Albion\'s true origins.
But whether they were right or wrong, a lack of evidence and information halted them from arriving at a conclusive answer.
Meanwhile, the person in question was nowhere to be seen in Silvercove City.
Despite that, the name Bawles the Ripper and Nut-Cracking Fiend began circulating on the streets and forums more frequently as Albion\'s name was mentioned.
…
…
…
Crack!
As Albion and Fenriri rode on Pompom\'s back, seemingly without a destination in mind, Albion accidentally exerted too much strength and broke one of Pompom\'s scales.
Roar!
Pompom roared in pain.
"Master, why are you bullying Pompom?" Fenriri asked with surprise, but she did not dare to criticize him for it.
As Albion tried to calm the dragon down with a few pats, he scratched his head and replied, "It was an accident. For some reason, I felt irritated and had an urge to break things."
"Oh…"
Fenriri uttered and said no more.
She was unsure what made her master irritated, but she definitely did not want her master to vent it out on her.
Suddenly, Albion\'s nose twitched before shifting his gaze towards the west and taking in a deeper breath of fresh air.
"The spiritual energy in this world has become richer… Heh, it is rather contradictory that the end of the world would bring forth an age of spiritual rejuvenation…"
Albion narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment before cracking a smile and shaking his head with amusement.
Spiritual decline was the reason behind the shortage of cultivators in the world.
Nevertheless, whatever and wherever the source of spiritual rejuvenation may be, Albion did not doubt that the world will soon experience a growth spike in cultivators.
"Seems like there will be more experts in the Spirit Transformation Realm… Interesting."
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…
…
Outer Space, Damocles
Inside the sector dedicated to the research of crop cultivation, a white-coat researcher entered a large domed area of artificially-grown trees rich in spiritual energy and fresh air, where Emperor Polemos was seen inspecting the soil.
"Your Majesty, the test results are out! This is so incredible, Your Majesty! I have never seen such numbers before!" the white-coat researcher informed.
After accepting the sheet of data from the white-coat researcher, Polemos briefly read the information before his eyes flickered brightly.
"No doubt about it," Polemos shortly nodded in agreement before commenting with heartfelt praise, "As expected of the Lord. Anything given by the Lord cannot be ordinary."
"It has only been a few hours, but these Blizzard Earthworms have improved the soil so much, which in turn, increased the production of spiritual energy from these trees."
"I wonder where the Dark Lord found such cute and little guys," the white-coat researcher wondered while crouching down to tease the Blizzard Earthworms with his fingers.
"Where the Lord found them is not important. What\'s important is that the timing of the Lord\'s gifts could not have been more perfect. As a result, the demand for spiritual energy has been eased somewhat," Polemos stated.
"However, this is only a short-term solution, Your Majesty," the white-coat researcher shook his head and argued, "No matter how much we increase spiritual energy production, it will still be inferior to the World Tree."
"The enormous tree that suddenly emerged from the largest forest in the Armentia continent, huh? That is indeed a problem."
Polemos frowned slightly in thought.
With the sudden emergence of several wonders worldwide, Earth has become more desirable for spiritual practice than Damocles.
"Perhaps our Lord had already foreseen this situation when he arranged and expressed his intention for world domination," Polemos thought.
The white-coat researcher\'s eyes quickly flashed with reverence.
"As expected of our Lord. The Lord\'s strength is unparalleled, and his vision is far-seeing," the white-coat researched praised before asking, "Should we send a group of elites to train on Earth, Your Majesty?"
"Hmm… I suppose we—"
Before Polemos could finish, he was interrupted as a subordinate rushed into the domed area and reported, "Your Majesty, there\'s something urgent that requires your attention!"
"What is it?" Polemos frowned.
"This…" the subordinate hesitated before saying, "It\'s better if Your Majesty heads to the control center and take a look in person."
A few minutes later, Polemos followed the subordinate back to the control center before noticing an ongoing video call with Empress Una on-screen.
"Well, if it isn\'t Una? Are you done hiding?" Polemos teased with a mocking smile.
However, Empress Una calmly replied, "Where is the Dark Lord? I want to negotiate a deal."