Worlds Conquest

"The forbidden magic of the Amethyst Archmage—legend has it, every amethyst crystal crafted by her holds terrifying power."

"And yet, the Archmage actually used one such amethyst specifically to seal a bloodline-based inheritance spell."

"Normally, only warlocks would dabble in this kind of technique. If the magic flow of Aeksnell Continent weren't frozen, that Archmage would likely have already reached the Sanctum realm."

Mage Luna spoke with admiration. For mages, witnessing the magic creations of another was the truest way to sense their mastery and strength.

Whether the Amethyst Archmage of Aeksnell had the potential to reach the Sanctum was uncertain. But here, in this new world, Luna herself had far greater odds of ascending to that level.

"An inheritance that can only be unlocked through bloodline,"

Ryan said as he let a single drop of crimson blood fall onto the amethyst embedded in the palm of Luna's golem.

In the next moment, a hairline crack appeared on the surface of the amethyst crystal.

Then, a radiant light erupted. As the amethyst shattered, a flood of information surged forth, pouring directly into the minds of the onlookers.

But in this chamber, there were only three people: Ryan, Brand, and Mage Luna.

"This is…"

Ryan was stunned.

His consciousness was pulled into a world of darkness. Within that void, two flickering flames appeared—or rather, two eyes.

A massive, ancient being approached. As it neared, Ryan saw it clearly—a towering stag, radiant with divine brilliance, its enormous eyes glowing like lanterns as it stared into his soul.

Then the stag let out a deafening roar and charged.

Its entire body was wreathed in crimson fire, and as it rushed toward him, Ryan felt as though the whole world was collapsing inward. The earth shrank beneath him, and he himself became infinitesimal. In his gaze of fear and awe, the blood-red stag finally trampled down upon him.

BOOM!!

A second stag, made of his own surging blood and qi, materialized within Ryan. His formidable physical energy condensed into the form of another stag, and with its roar, a shield and a spear took shape in his hands.

Ryan raised the shield, blocking the frenzied charge of the spectral stag from the darkness—and thrust his spear forward.

The darkness dispersed.

Ryan awoke, feeling the boiling blood within his body. His Stag Spirit Knight Breathing Technique had finally caught up to his Flame Dragon Knight Breathing Technique, advancing to the Bronze Knight stage. His physique and internal energy had grown noticeably stronger once again.

Seeing Ryan awaken, Luna—in her massive golem form—was visibly surprised.

"I thought you'd take longer than him. I didn't expect your mental fortitude to be even greater than I imagined."

As Brand began to stir as well, Luna looked to Ryan and continued:

"A Saint-level knight technique... You two are remarkably lucky. Back in Aeksnell, no more than ten noble houses possessed techniques of this tier."

"If you ever reach the Sanctum, you might even be able to fuse these two techniques into a unique, legendary technique of your own."

"This technique is a key to the Sanctum. Maybe not the only key—but without something like this, becoming a Saint is nearly impossible. With it, you may glimpse the power of the legendary realm."

These latter words were directed at Brand.

Luna had already noticed that Ryan carried more than one knight breathing method—and that each was powerful. She found it extraordinary that a single person could train in multiple techniques without any internal conflict.

But what shocked her even more—

"You actually inherited the will of the Stag Spirit. No wonder you were able to appear in Aeksnell. Looks like, in its dying moments, the Stag Spirit found hope in you."

Luna looked at Ryan with solemn respect. Though a mage, she was still a child of Aeksnell, and her reverence for the Stag Spirit had never entirely faded.

"I will forge my own path."

Brand muttered quietly at the side. This Saint-level knight technique had left a deep impression on him. He now understood the true chasm that could exist between knights—but he did not wallow in envy or awe.

"Shield of the Stag. Spear of the Fallen Hero. The former allows a shield-bearing knight, using the Stag Spirit breathing method, to achieve 180% of normal defensive capacity. The latter spear can be infused with knightly qi or used to boost piercing weapons by 30% to 50%."

Such was the power of the extraordinary.

To Ryan, this sounded like a unique form of enchantment: +80% defense, +50% piercing?

Of course, the foundation remained the knight's own cultivation system.

Among the many paths of the supernatural, knights might not be the strongest—but they were certainly the most stable.

"Only the Stag Spirit breathing method can activate it. Looks like we've truly struck gold."

Ryan smiled. At last, his supernatural army had true potential to become a supernatural legion.

In time, he could build a force to rival the Nightmare Cavalry of Archduke Mayers, or even the Flame Dragon Knight Order of the Rimehart family—forces capable of hunting dragons themselves.

"This seems more like an infantry formation."

"The Stag Spirit watches over us. Back in Aeksnell, infantry was always the backbone of warfare."

Luna added, drawing on her deep understanding of Aeksnell's history, born of years spent searching for ancient magical resources.

The appearance of two knight techniques had made Ryan's army far more formidable. But with that came another reality—the cost of training in such techniques would only grow.

With just 195 knight squires under his command, Ryan once again felt the strain on his grain reserves.

"Perhaps it's time we began mass breeding certain livestock."

Ryan mused aloud. He remembered that many domesticated animals had originally been wild beasts, gradually tamed over time.

July 2nd.

Barak, the envoy from Baron Barnes, returned once again to the Frozen Territory. Though he might have been a little slow-witted, his execution and reliability had earned the respect of both Baron Barnes and Ryan.

Gasping atop a trembling horse, Barak brought Barnes's formal reply.

He had accepted all of Ryan's terms, with one caveat: spoils of war would be distributed according to merit. Naturally, Barnes promised to fully support the grain consumption of Ryan's army.

And so, Ryan made one final trip to Furnace City, bringing with him the remainder of the idle population back to the Frozen Territory. Then, once more, he led his army, leaving behind the northern frontier.