Chapter 777 - 529: Unexpected Intelligence and the Victory Banquet
Chapter 777: Chapter 529: Unexpected Intelligence and the Victory Banquet
The atmosphere at the banquet was somewhat subdued.
Everyone wore an unconcealable look of exhaustion on their faces.
And even... a hint of bewilderment.
They had paid too high a price for victory.
A Divine Artifact, destroyed.
A Legend, fallen.
Gu, the Great Elder of the Giant Race, was now like a candle flickering in the wind.
Was a victory like this truly worth celebrating?
Raylo, holding a glass of wine, slowly rose to his feet.
All eyes focused on the young Lord.
"Everyone."
Raylo raised his glass.
"I know that talk of celebration might seem inappropriate right now."
"We lost too much in this battle."
His gaze swept over every Legendary Powerhouse present.
"But in the end, we were victorious."
Raylo’s tone grew more forceful.
"We prevented a catastrophe that would have swept across the entire Continent. We protected the countless lives behind us."
"For that protection, and for our fallen comrades..."
He raised his glass high.
"I propose a toast. The first glass, to everyone here!"
"To your courage and sacrifice!"
"Black Stone Territory, the Thunder Dragon Duchy, and all the living beings on the Continent will forever remember your deeds!"
As his words fell,
Mage Delin raised his glass.
Then came Mage Nancy, Master Morpheus...
All the surviving Legendary Powerhouses silently rose and raised their glasses.
They looked at Raylo with complicated expressions.
"To the survival of the Human Race!"
Everyone toasted and drained their glasses in one gulp.
The harsh liquor slid down their throats like a ball of fire, dispelling some of their weariness and the chill in their bones.
The atmosphere finally seemed to relax a little.
However,
just as everyone was sitting back down,
Mage Delin once again filled his glass and slowly stood up.
His face was now filled with solemnity and sorrow.
"This second glass..."
His voice was a little hoarse.
"I would like... to toast a friend who couldn’t make it back."
The hall instantly fell into a deathly silence once more.
Everyone knew who he was talking about.
Gregory Mage.
"To Gregory!"
Mage Delin raised his glass high.
"To Gregory!"
Mage Nancy’s eyes reddened, her voice choked with emotion.
"To Gregory!"
All the Legends present stood up once more.
They raised their glasses, their expressions solemn, paying their deepest respects for the sacrifice of Gregory Mage.
Raylo silently drained his glass.
’This is war.’
’Cruel and real.’
「 」
By the time the banquet ended, it was late at night.
Raylo had already ordered rooms to be prepared for the Legends to rest.
The guests left one after another.
Finally, only Raylo and Mage Delin remained in the banquet hall.
"Raylo."
Mage Delin called out to Raylo, who was about to leave.
"Hm? Master, is there something else?"
Raylo was a little surprised.
"There is something that I believe I must discuss with you alone."
Mage Delin’s expression was serious.
Something stirred within Raylo.
He nodded and led Mage Delin to the castle study.
"Master, please have a seat."
Raylo personally poured a cup of hot tea for Mage Delin.
Mage Delin, however, did not sit down. He walked over to the study window, gazed out at the tranquil nightscape of Black Stone Territory, and remained silent for a long while.
"Raylo."
He began to speak slowly.
"Do you believe that with the Hydra’s fall, the threat from the Jade Swamp has been eliminated?"
Raylo was stunned for a moment.
He hadn’t expected Mage Delin to ask such a question.
"Hasn’t it?"
Raylo frowned.
"The Hydra was the source of all this evil. With it dead, the Demons in the Jade Swamp are leaderless. Although it will take time to clean them up, they no longer pose a major threat."
This was the general consensus.
However,
Mage Delin slowly shook his head.
"No."
"Things... are not that simple."
His words made Raylo’s heart sink.
"What do you mean?"
Mage Delin turned to face Raylo.
"While we were clearing the battlefield and inspecting the Hydra’s lair, we made an astonishing discovery."
"In the deepest part of its lair, we found a... spatial rift."
’A spatial rift?’
Raylo’s pupils contracted slightly.
"The rift was extremely well-hidden, concealed by the Hydra with immense Power and an Illusion Technique. If it hadn’t died and its Power dissipated, we would never have found it,"
Mage Delin explained.
"I conducted a brief investigation."
"Behind that rift lies... a completely new world!"
"That world is extremely... barbaric. It’s filled with a primitive and violent energy."
"Most importantly,"
Mage Delin said, emphasizing each word.
"we have reason to believe that the Hydra was able to grow so rapidly, even to the point of touching the threshold of the World Destruction Level, because it was constantly devouring the world origin of that Barbaric World!"
BOOM!
The news exploded in Raylo’s mind like a clap of thunder.
’Devouring the origin of an entire world!’
’No wonder!’
’No wonder the Hydra grew so powerful!’
’It wasn’t a natural product of this world at all!’
Raylo fell silent.
The implications of this news were enormous.
He needed time to process it.
A spatial rift. A Barbaric World.
It represented unknown dangers, but also, possibly... an unprecedented opportunity.
’Still, since the Hydra is dead,’ he thought, ’this rift and that world, while a problem, don’t seem... all that urgent.’
"Morpheus has already moved the spatial rift into his workshop," Mage Delin said. "We can study it slowly later."
Raylo nodded.
"I understand. Thank you for telling me this, Master."
"It is something you needed to know."