I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

Lis gently touched Duke Ward's dream space, and his whole body entered the dream space before him.

Feeling disoriented for a moment, he appeared in a new world.

To his surprise, Duke Ward's dream was the Ice Castle Palace, and it was right inside the main palace of the Ice Castle.

Unlike the exterior style of the Ice Castle Palace, this place was entirely composed of gold and white colors. The pristine pillars and bright red carpets created a uniquely mysterious ambiance, and at the center of the spacious hall was a pale golden throne, encircled by layers of steps.

The familiar figure of Duke Ward sat on this throne that symbolized the ultimate power of the Dillon Kingdom, his gaze vacant, seemingly lost in thought.

Lis stood at the center of the hall, hand on his chin, observing Duke Ward.

Using the "Sphinx Dream Building Skill" to conceal his presence, he went unnoticed by Stran Ward, the master of this dream space.

Generally, a person's dreams reflect the deepest desires of their heart.

So, does Stran Ward truly wish to become the king of the Dillon Kingdom deep inside? To grasp even more power?

However, today's trouble wasn't for the sake of sorting out Duke Ward's dreams.

Lis raised his left hand, and a multicolored, dreamy light gathered in his palm, slowly spreading to envelop the entire palace.

This special light was the "Power of Dreams," the same special power Lis had encountered in the Sphinx Dream Temple.

As the iridescent light spread, the hues of the platinum Ice Castle Palace slowly dimmed, and the entire dream transformed into a dark, confined space filled with a faint grey mist.

In the center of this space was a simple Bronze long table, with a Bronze candlestick on it whose flame flickered weakly, unable to illuminate the entirety of the space but adding a quiet, eerie atmosphere instead.

Duke Ward, who had originally been sitting on the throne, seemed still unawakened, his body now seated at one side of the Bronze long table, moved with the change in the space.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Lis stopped using the Power of Dreams to further modify the dream space.

It must be said that Stran, as a Gold Level strongman, even the dream space formed unconsciously by his spiritual power was challenging for Lis to override and change.

However, it seemed to have been effective.

Upon examining his handiwork, Lis desired to create just such a mysterious and eerie environment to better converse with Duke Ward.

Lis's figure blurred and transformed into a middle-aged man, about thirty years old, dressed in a black Mage Robe.

Death Secret Cult, Moriarty!

Lis touched his now somewhat pale disguised face and took a seat on the Bronze chair directly opposite Stran.

Looking at Duke Ward whose consciousness had not yet awakened across him, Lis curved his finger, gently tapping the Bronze long table in front.

Ding~ Ding~

The crisp sounds as if piercing the soul, echoed throughout this space.

Stran too seemed to be suddenly roused by this noise, opening his eyes.

...

Where am I...?

The just-awakened Stran was still somewhat bewildered, observing the dark space around him and the ancient Bronze long table before him.

"Welcome, Stran Ward."

Seeing the pale-faced middle-aged man sitting across from him, Stran quickly realized the peculiarity of his situation.

"Who are you?"

Stran asked, then scrutinized the space closely.

It was dark, and constricted, seemingly shrouded in deep darkness, with faint grey mist drifting in the air, bringing with it a sense of unreality.

Stran was certain he had never been to this place before and it did not seem like any normal location.

"Death Secret Cult, Moriarty."

"Pleased to meet you, Duke Ward!"

Stran, facing the man with a sinister smile, did not panic but quickly calmed down.

"After the banquet, I should have just rested in my bedroom."

"Someone who can elude my perception and bypass the defenses of the estate."

"Only a Legend could do that, right?"

"But if it really were a Legendary Strongman, they wouldn't need to go through all this trouble."

"That means some sort of special tactic!"

"In other words, the mysterious person before me surely isn't as powerful as he appears, and his actions must also be limited."

The crafty Stran instantly realized the crux of the problem!

"It can only be said that Stran's guess is not wrong, the Dream Space, being a manifestation of each individual's subconscious, has minimal impact on itself."

"Perhaps at the stage of Legendary Arcanist Sphinx, one could kill an enemy through dreams, but Lis isn't capable of that yet, let alone taking action against Stran in a dream."

"What do you want to do by bringing me to this place?"

Stran crossed his arms and looked at the man in the black robe before him.

"I would like to discuss a partnership with our Duke Ward," replied the man in the black robe, tapping his left finger lightly on the bronze table and smiling.

Stran furrowed his brow, the sound of the man tapping on the table seemed to transmit directly into his mind, making him somewhat uncomfortable.

"What kind of partnership? I don't think you have the sincerity to negotiate."

Stran's expression was indifferent, and he did not waver at all but retorted to Lis.

"This is because the protective forces around Duke Ward are too strong!" said the man in the black robe with a frivolous tone, seemingly unconcerned about Duke Ward's question.

He even managed to pull out a stemmed glass containing deep red wine from somewhere, took a sip, and rocked his head as if intoxicated by it.

"So confident that I won't be able to find and counter you?"

"Interesting!"

As a Gold Level Berserker, Stran's strength naturally wasn't obtained in a hot-house environment.

He had faced the vicious Magic Beasts of the northern icefields, battled against the cruel and insane Cultists, and stared down the chaotic filth of the Abyss Demons—experiences that forged Stran's confidence as a strongman.

But Stran, having already stabilized his emotions, was shocked by Lis's next words and lost control of his facial expression.

"Moreover, since Duke Ward, you can collaborate with Abyss Demons, I suppose our Death Secret Cult wouldn't be too bad either."

"You... I don't understand what you're talking about."

Stran remained expressionless, lacking his earlier composed demeanor.

"Don't say that!"

"Shaz Wood will be sad, you know!"

"How did you come to know this name?" Stran frowned upon hearing the name finally spoken by the man in the black robe and asked in a low voice.

That name was Duke Ward's greatest secret, unknown even to his closest ally, Marquis Bella Milne.

How could this man know of it!

"Who knows?" said the man in the black robe with a shrug and a smile.

Shaz Wood, a Gold Level Demon Envoy, disciple of Demon Prince Demogorgon.

At the same time, he was also the instigator of the great incident in Ice Peak City—Demon's Gate!