672 Star Monarch
Chapter 672: Star Monarch
"Charles, although I never heard of Star Monarch, I indeed have some speculation about this 'Monarch' title," Alistair said after thinking.
"You have someone in mind?" Charles's curiosity was piqued.
At that moment, Alistair turned his gaze towards Rowan and spoke.
"Have you heard of the origin of the fallen Star Empire? The man who created that empire also entered this tower long ago and found some great fortune after entering Fifth Layer. Although no one knew why he kept the empire name as 'Star Empire,' many thought it must be him showing respect to the Dungeon of Star Tombs. But what if he did that to show respect to the 'Star Monarch'?"
"You are saying Star Monarch is the fallen God of the Fifth Layer, Lord Alistair?"
"No, Fifth Layer's fallen god was called Nether God named Moravian and ruled over the domain of Death, Soul, and Shadow. This person is something else. He is someone more powerful than any fallen God." As he spoke, he subconsciously pressed his chest and added.
"My heart never ached even when I uttered the name of the High God and other fallen gods. Simply put, this person might be the creator of this Dungeon itself."
His words caused strange silence in the group.
Noticing everyone's gaze, Alistair let out a fake cough and spoke.
"This is only my speculation. I might be wrong. But Charles should focus on searching for your companion in the fourth layer and try to move to the fifth. You might get some answers over there."
"What about you guys?" Charles asked.
"After killing the Fallen Jinn, we will enter the fourth layer, explore it for the next 30 days, and leave with whatever we find. That's as far as we can go with our current strength." Alistair said with a chuckle and soon added while standing up.
"Let's go. We should get some sleep before the final battle."
Saying so, he turned around and started walking towards the farthest tent.
Meanwhile, Charles also bid his farewell to Rowan and returned to his tent.
After that, he quietly took a mat from his space ring, lay on it using a pillow to support his head, and started thinking.
On the other hand, the Shadow Princess silently moved toward his chest and started sleeping like a harmless child.
...
The next morning.
Nine people packed their belongings and started gathering under the tree.
"Let the vote begin," Alistair raised his voice and continued.
"Those who want to attack the fallen Jinn today should raise their hands."
Just as he spoke, six people raised their hands, including Rowan. The only ones who didn't raise their hands were Charles, Nyx, and Alistair himself.
"This is surprising," Alistair commented with a smile and slowly turned his gaze toward Nyx before asking.
"What's your thought on this? You don't want to attack the Fallen Jinn today?"
"If we attack now, the result will be the same as last time. First, I want you, me, and Charles to confront Fallen Jinn alone and try to use the 'item' you got from the Nightwind Patriarch on it. After gathering enough information, we should retreat and make a perfect plan to kill it without any failure. This way, we can avoid heavy casualties on our side." Nyx said in a solemn tone.
"What do you think about his plan, Charles?" Alistair asked while gazing at him.
Meanwhile, Charles thought for a moment and spoke.
"Why not do both? First, we will attack the Jinn to find its information and let the other members join the battle. After all, Magical Beasts are also intelligent beings capable of adapting to the situation more. The more we try to learn about it, the Fallen Jinn might also learn about us."
"You are indeed right." Alistair nodded in agreement and decided to follow his idea.
Afterwards, the group prepared for departure while sharing Charles's plan and started their journey.
But as they walked closer, Charles noticed that more vegetation appeared slowly. Before long, everyone saw a large lake-like oasis up ahead, surrounded by giant trees and plants.
"From here onwards, only the three of us will move ahead and confront the Fallen Jinn. Last time, it appeared as we approached the Oasis and killed three of our members in a single ice-type attack." Alistair warned everyone.
After that, Alistair, Charles, and Nyx left the group and went ahead. As they moved closer, Charles felt a chilling wind coming from the direction of the Oasis and even noticed the whole dry group appeared wet. There were even strange ice knives the size 5 to 10 meters long scattered all over the surroundings and melting slowly.
Not only that, but he also sensed a strange invisible gaze from the northern direction.
'That's probably the gaze of the guardian. But I don't see any being's presence from the Oasis.'
At that moment, Alistair and Nyx also seemed to have noticed the traces of battle outside the Oasis and glanced at each other.
"It seems someone came here way ahead of us. And this battle should've happened four to five days ago." Alistair's tone appeared solemn.
But what startled Charles was that they spoke in Lark Language.
'It seems they don't want me to understand what they are saying.' Unfortunately, Charles had long learned Lark Language and could understand each word clearly.
"I thought only our team didn't choose to explore the lower levels and solely focus on reaching the fourth layer. But who could it be? Amber Church?" Nyx asked.
"No, they still haven't left this third layer yet. I contacted the Cardinal only this morning and informed him we will go to the next layer first." Alistair paused for a moment and soon widened his eyes.
"I know who this group is. It must be the Holem Family."
"Holem... I thought they were strong, like our family. Didn't you say the same?" Nyx asked while furrowing.
"Don't forget the Holem family still is in contact with their ancestor family line in another plane. I suspect they might've gotten some help from them." Alistair said with an understanding nod and soon asked.
"Now that I think about it, the Nightwind family also has some connection with the Holem family, right?"
"It was in the past, not anymore. After the death of Eddie's daughter, the whole Holem family went into hiding in fear of fierce retaliation from Eddie and only revealed themselves after his disappearance. From that time onwards, the Nightwind family had completely lost their trust in them and severed their ties." Nyx said as he continued to walk closer toward the Oasis.
"Eddie, huh? If he is still alive, the Nightwind family might have become one of the top powerhouses like us. Unfortunately, the whole family is declining. Even when a genius like Harry appeared, those useless older morons didn't know how to nurture him." Alistair said while taking out an amulet from his space ring.
"Humph, don't forget the one who ordered his assassination was none other than your brother. Moreover, that lad didn't know where to poke his nose. Not only he colluded with the Wisdom Church, but he even tried to use his skill on our 'Pure Bloodlines.' If the news of our secrets is revealed to the outside world, it might cause great chaos." Nyx said in a severe tone and soon added with a sigh.
"That Nightwind family sure is troublesome. I also heard some news about Harry's son a few years ago. It seems he caused quite a stir in the Arc Kingdom and even caused some trouble for the Amber Church. But he seemed to have offended a powerful expert and died. That's what I read in the news article published by Ember Royals."
While talking, the trio finally arrived before the Oasis and noticed no sign of life.
"What should we do now? Should we wait-?" Before Alistair could finish his words, a strange hexagonal magical pattern appeared inside the Oasis and shone in a bluish light.
Charles was the first to react as he cast the [Circle of Invulnerability] spell and created a fire force field around his body.
"Get ready. Guardian seems to have made some change and resurrected the Jinn much earlier." He warned them and backed away.
At that moment, the bluish light also dissipated from the Oasis, revealing a blue-skinned humanoid figure standing in the middle of the water. The Fallen Jinn appeared to be around 2.5 to 3 meters tall and had a strange eerie single eye at its forehead, two black pupilless eyes, long ears, a sharp nose, and even a purple pant-like dress.
A blue icon appeared before Charles's eyes, revealing the creature's status.
...
[Name: ?????
Race: Fallen Jinn
Rank: Legend Rank (Peak)
Age: 730,234 years
Health: Normal
Affiliation: Chaotic Evil
Title: Lord of Storm and Ice, Champion of the Garden.
Attributes:
Strength: 49.9
Agility: 49.9
Vitality: 49.9
Wisdom Power: 899
Bloodline Spells:
Frost Embrace, Glacial Mirage, Hoarfrost Prison, Blizzard's Wrath, Ice Domain, Chaos Ice Storm, Frozen Elegy, Zero Touch.
Unique Skill: Elemental Summon, Bloodthirsty.]
...
"Do it, Alistair," Nyx said as he took the ancient book from his space ring and started reciting a few words.
Two seconds later, a strange invisible wall-like defensive structure appeared before them.
In the meantime, Alistair also held the amulet in his hand tightly and activated its unique ability.
A second later, a powerful invisible wisdom essence came from the amulet, spread towards the tall Jinn, and tried to analyze it.
Upon sensing the unknown energy, the Fallen Jinn finally opened its third eye and locked its gaze in their direction.
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