Chapter 372 - 370: His Majesty the Blazing Sun Dominator

Chapter 372: Chapter 370: His Majesty the Blazing Sun Dominator

For the past few decades, the five nations of the Shadow Mist Continent had ceased fighting and maintained a truce. Within each kingdom, however, were the influences of other nations. Some were overt, while others lurked in the shadows—and there was no shortage of traitors.

Lloyd had learned over drinks that the King had secretly sent envoys to the Kasa Kingdom and two other kingdoms. In the same way, people from other nations could also obtain this information through various channels and pass it on to their superiors.

There’s no such thing as a perfect secret.

As the second-largest nation on the Shadow Mist Continent, the Akutas Kingdom had spies in every country.

Thus, the Akutas Kingdom quickly learned of this intelligence.

Duke Blazing Sun, Howard, was instantly on alert and immediately sought out his father, His Majesty Tyron.

Ever since Tyron was severely injured on the battlefield while slaying Joseph, the first king of the Pruck Kingdom, he had entrusted the affairs of the Kingdom to his son and retired to Sun Stealer Castle, located behind Blazing Sun Fortress.

"Father, the Pruck Kingdom must be planning to unite with the Kasa, Fidun, and Asando Kingdoms to encircle and destroy us, carving up our Territory!"

The young Regent King stood as straight and tall as a flagpole at Blazing Sun Fortress. His hair was the color of tempered red copper, making his features, honed by years of trials, appear even sharper.

A gust of wind blew into the fortress, lifting the crimson curtain at the front and revealing the face seated upon the throne of Sun Stealer Castle—a face baptized by blood and fire.

Tyron Akutas was nearly ninety years old, yet his face bore no traces of time, save for a few crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes.

The power of this expert, who had once ushered in a new era, was now at an unknown level.

"Are you flustered, my child?" Tyron’s calm voice came from above, seemingly devoid of the frailty of old age.

He was still exceptionally strong.

Howard did not hide his concern. "Yes, Father. For the past two years, the Asando and Fidun Kingdoms have been stirring up trouble at the border. Although the two Marquises, Kalandir and Terence, have been able to hold them off with the Kingdom’s Legions, it would be extremely disadvantageous for us if Kasa and Pruck were to get involved."

The Asando and Fidun Kingdoms were not large, nor were they particularly powerful. Even united, the threat they posed to the Akutas Kingdom was quite limited.

But if either Kasa or Pruck were added to the mix, the pressure on the Akutas Kingdom would become immense.

Not to mention the current situation, which hinted at a Four Nations Alliance poised to carve them up.

Tyron gently stroked a blood-red ring on his left index finger. His expression wasn’t grave at all; on the contrary, he appeared completely composed.

"This is all the work of the Holy Radiance Church Court from the Sunset Continent, isn’t it?"

He said slowly, "Otherwise, those two from Asando and Fidun wouldn’t have the guts."

Howard nodded. "People from the Holy Radiance Church Court have already entered the Pruck Kingdom. On the Shadow Mist Continent now, I’m afraid only we and the Kasa Kingdom haven’t been infiltrated by them."

Tyron scoffed. "That ambitious fellow Aurelian probably can’t stand their hypocritical rhetoric and won’t let them set foot in the Kasa Kingdom’s Territory."

"Perhaps."

Howard sighed. "But in my opinion, this Four Nations Alliance was most likely the idea of someone from the Holy Radiance Church Court."

He looked at his father, the old man whose injuries had long since healed and whose power had only grown. "What should I do now?"

A long silence fell over Sun Stealer Castle.

Finally, Tyron rose from the throne, pushed aside the crimson curtain, and walked out.

Howard bowed. "It has been a long time. You seem even more formidable than before!"

A faint smile played on Tyron’s lips. "You can be like me, my son. Absolute power is the foundation of everything."

Howard lowered his head. It was unclear whether he was agreeing with that statement. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

"Very well!"

Tyron gazed at the sky outside Sun Stealer Castle, his eyes glinting with the resolve to go all in. "This time, my Sun Stealer Legion can be deployed."

Hearing this, Howard was overjoyed. It was as if the addition of this Legion meant he no longer had to fear the Four Nations Alliance.

"Summon the Ministers of the Kingdom. I will meet with them at Blazing Sun Fortress."

Howard was taken aback.

For years, the Kingdom’s affairs had been entrusted to him. In name, he was only the Duke Blazing Sun, but many people already considered him the King of Akutas.

Tyron’s rare public appearances had even led many to believe his severe injuries had never healed and that he was on the verge of death.

By having Howard summon the ministers for a public appearance this time, he was clearly announcing his return to the world.

Instead of feeling like his authority was being usurped, Howard felt a sense of reassurance.

"Your return will surely be a great boost to everyone’s confidence!" the Crown Prince said in a deep voice.

Tyron chuckled. "You continue doing what you’re supposed to do. I have no interest in those matters."

He spoke as he walked outside. "Let’s get it over with soon. After I see them, I need to go out and catch up with some old friends."

"Yes!"

...

By the time Duane heard the news that the King of the Akutas Kingdom, the Blazing Sun Dominator, His Majesty Tyron, had made a high-profile appearance after many years, he had already been back on Black Forest Island for over a month.

"Looks like the Akutas Kingdom knows it’s in a bad spot and has trotted out the old king to boost morale."

Natalia commented as she translated the letter, "Duane, if our four kingdoms were to actually attack Akutas all at once, do you think they could hold out?"

The two of them were in the backyard of Forest Castle.

Duane was standing in the center of the yard, a ring of pale yellow energy spreading out from him in all directions, covering a ten-meter radius.

A sparrow passed overhead, flying perfectly fine one moment, then suddenly plummeted from the sky as if seized by a giant hand, smashing hard onto the ground and dying on impact.

A sharp pain shot through Duane’s mind, causing him to let out a muffled groan and sway unsteadily.

"What’s wrong?"

A look of panic crossed Natalia’s face, and she quickly rose to her feet to support him.

"Don’t come over!"

Duane quickly stopped her. "The Gravity Technique is too much for you to handle."

A Level 8 Gravity Technique wouldn’t endanger Natalia’s life, but entering it rashly would still cause her extreme discomfort.

Natalia halted but remained worried. "What’s wrong? A headache?"

For an Ascension-level Warrior to suddenly get a headache was definitely not a normal occurrence.

Duane pointed at the sparrow on the ground. "That sparrow was under my Mind Control Magic. I wanted to test the effect of the Gravity Technique, but I didn’t expect to kill it outright."

Both Mind Control and Gravity Technique were Magic that Duane had extracted from the Demon Core of a Secret Realm Black Bear.

It had taken him a considerable amount of time to separate these two Spell Models from the Demon Core.

Now that he had reached the realm of a Level 8 Mage, he was qualified to learn these two forms of Magic.

Natalia understood his implication. "The sparrow’s death hurts you?"

Duane rubbed his temples with a wry smile. "It seems so. Its death sent a sharp pain through my soul."

"Is it serious?"

Duane deactivated the Gravity Technique and carefully assessed himself. "It was just a sharp pain, and then it was gone. There don’t seem to be any other negative effects."

"Teacher Louis says that the soul is the most mysterious thing."

Natalia reminded him, "I think it would be best if you didn’t experiment recklessly."

Even though Duane was now an Ascension-level Warrior and a Magic Master, his abilities did not involve the soul.

’Perhaps only a Grand Mage possesses abilities that affect the realm of the soul.’

For instance, Level 9 Magic like Soul Stripping and Will Infusion involved the manipulation of the soul.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be careful."

Duane glanced at the sparrow on the ground. ’What a pity.’

He had just had the sparrow fly a circle under his control and was about to have it "report" what it had seen, but the Gravity Technique killed it instantly.

’Weaker subjects are easy to control, but they die easily. Stronger individuals are harder to kill, but they’re difficult to control...’

That was the contradiction.

If possible, he really wanted to control the Giant Lynx from the Heavenly Mountain Range and make it serve him.

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached.

The Male Servant, Logan, stopped a short distance away. "Sir, Madam, the Kingdom Territory Surveyor, Sir Trenton, is here to see you."

Duane was a little surprised. "What’s he doing here?"

He frowned slightly. ’Could it be that the irregularities in the Territory survey have been discovered, and he’s coming to me for a way out?’