CHAPTER 542: CHAPTER 266: MAY EVERYTHING BELONG TO THE KING OF GOLD_2

Actually, they had other choices.

However, this time, Ethan did not choose negotiation.

He could only vaguely guess Cynthia’s experiences over the millennium; the King of Gold had long worn down her will, deeply ingraining unease in her heart, causing her to be unable to defy "destiny." Instead, she could only try to minimize sacrifices in her submission, which became her final form of resistance.

This shadow is not something that can be changed in a few words.

Gradually, the elemental magic which painted the sky in vivid colors disappeared.

The professors at the academy halted their actions; against the looming disaster overhead, this sudden change terrified them more.

They could no longer connect with the natural elements, and all spells lost their functionality; even the Fireball Skill and Frost Arrow, mastered easily by beginners, became unreachable.

However, the elemental movements did not stop; they were gathering in the same direction.

They converged into the same color.

The source of the disaster overhead sensed the anomaly, and that arrow which had been long charging finally plummeted toward the ground.

Fragmented sounds were everywhere, their vision filled with the ever-approaching golden glow.

They could no longer see anything else, until a crack appeared in the ubiquitous golden light.

Something was torn apart.

The guild members of the 003 Plane Transfer Station also witnessed this moment.

This was the second abnormal plane fluctuation, much stronger than the one a few days prior.

Investigators Zack and Zul’gara lost contact after reporting the anomalous energy fluctuation; their plane was rapidly reclassified from "habitable" to "unpredictable," tagged with "possible lethal pollution source" wandering around. The station’s overseer leaned on his cane, staring fixedly at the vanishing plane rift where Cynthia was.

He still didn’t know what the investigators encountered in the rift, but it was undoubtedly the source of the energy fluctuation.

Sweat uncontrollably seeped from his palms, as he had never seen any scene like this, making him worried whether the King of Gold’s envoy could fulfill her mission.

The great hall was silent.

White dust emitting a faint glow brushed past their cheeks, drifting out of the hall with the wind.

Wherever the breeze touched, it was marked with mottled scars, a burning pain spreading across their bodies.

The air was filled with the remnants of white spheres, magic they had never seen and could not understand, extinguished the images within the spheres in a flash, with magic waves even traversing the magic web to reach here.

Communication with Cynthia was cut off.

They couldn’t help but put themselves in Cynthia’s position; if it were them facing such a level of spell, could they survive?

The answer emerging within their hearts sent chills down their spines.

This deadly silence evoked shared memories in each of them, reminding them irresistibly of the war they experienced, and... that traitor who had long been dead.

Merlin.

Only the traitor’s magic could threaten their King.

Because earlier, the traitor had been an existence on par with their King.

"I see, I see!"

After an unknown amount of time, excited self-talk echoed through the hall. The figure on the throne straightened up, gripping the golden mask with his right hand. As the man’s emotions fluctuated, every resident of the Golden Kingdom was affected to varying degrees—they too became excited with the King.

No matter where they were or what they were doing, they were simultaneously occupied by the same emotion.

Through these passionate emotions, they sensed the King’s desire.

A desire for war.

"So this was his goal, who would’ve thought such a secret was hiding there!"

The Golden Kingdom also moved with the man’s excited tone, emitting a booming sound like a bell.

They should immediately inform the other "Kings" of this discovery, yet before anyone could voice their opinion, the spreading bell once again tore a rift in the clouds, and the gold-forged hull plunged entirely into the rift.

Meanwhile, Cynthia lay flat on the grass.

She failed to execute her plan, to once again save the plane from the hands of the King of Gold.

Yet simultaneously, for millennia, her face once again felt the breeze; the golden mask covering her face shattered into dust during her fall, swept away by the wind to unknown places.

She was defeated by Wind Element Magic.

A Wind Element Magic that surpasses understanding, unable to be comprehended.

"Now, you should be able to speak normally."

Footsteps sounded beside her, Ethan’s voice came from overhead.

Cynthia merely glanced at him.

"If I couldn’t even defeat you, then it’s impossible to face the King of Gold... So, are you satisfied with the current results?"

Ethan naturally knew this outcome, he had already felt the changes ten thousand meters high; something was coming.

A high-speed train was going to crash straight towards here.

But he was a romanticist.

Rather than sacrificing himself or dying with everyone, he would find a way to stop the train.

"There’s no turning back now."

Cynthia blankly stared at the sky, she already saw the crack in the clouds, where golden structures were faintly visible.

She had no intention of praising Ethan, though he indeed disrupted destiny, leading the future into an unpredictable direction for everyone.

She still heard the familiar bell, descending from the sky, becoming the sole existence between heaven and earth.

Sacred, majestic, and irrefutable.

A group of students first noticed the changes in themselves, suddenly feeling their heads heavy, their vision blurry. When they confusedly placed their hands on their faces, a warm and hard sensation followed, quickly allowing them to understand their changes from others.

It was a golden mask with a blank expression, growing on their faces, tightly adhered.

Apart from the still echoing bell, the academy contained no more "noise"; they were as worshippers in a cathedral listening to hymns, awaiting baptism and favor to come.

They found their mouths could no longer produce sound; the golden mask sealed their mouths together, yet granted them more abilities.

Their communication became smoother; through the identical masks, they could clearly feel other people’s emotions and thoughts.

Perhaps this is not bad.

They were infected by identical emotions and thoughts, tranquility filled their hearts.

"You’ve chosen the most arduous path."

Cynthia whispered.

Yet she had no stand to accuse Ethan, when she carried her bow and boarded the Golden Kingdom alone, her thoughts were identical to Ethan’s.

Except Ethan may progress further than she previously did; as to where he could reach, Cynthia did not know.

"Leave the rest to us."

Ethan said, "Lady Cynthia, you should’ve retired long ago."

The bell did not end here, after the students were all covered, it didn’t leave the elders more preparation time. The barrier constructed by magic power was easily dismantled by the sacred bell’s sound, they had no time to make any resistance, and were also covered by identical masks.

The creation above the sky revealed its true silhouette, and more information flooded into their blank minds.

For everyone, this would be a favorable ending.

Everyone could understand each other, all negative emotions would drift away from them.

Under the reign of the King of Gold, there would be no more conflicts in the world.

May everything return to the King of Gold.