The position of the Azure Sky Kingdom and the Human United Kingdoms on the world map was not actually very far apart. The straight-line distance between the closest points was just over a thousand kilometers.
Visit frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓ for the b𝘦st novel reading experience.
After about a month of long-distance travel, the delegation finally crossed the extensive border that began from the Courage City and arrived at the southern border of the Human United Kingdoms.
Abyss City.
This was the largest military and population-heavy city on the southern border of the Human United Kingdoms. Five thousand more kilometers south from here, one could see the vast and seemingly bottomless Abyss of the Far South, from which the city derived its name.
Of course, the name also carried the significance of vigilance and defense against the southern nations and non-human races. In some ways, it was equivalent to the western border’s stronghold, the Wanhe Fortress.
Since the royal decree had already been issued in advance, the delegation encountered no obstacles on their way to the Abyss City into the Abyss and received a warm welcome.
Guarding the Abyss City into the Abyss was another prestigious Grand Duke of the Human United Kingdoms, General Bertram Grace’s, one of the neutral factions that decided to join after Lilya’s triumph in the western frontier. It was said that he was good friends with Leyton.
Although they only had a brief encounter when entering the city, in Violet’s perception, General Bertram was quite different from Leyton.
Firstly, Bertram was not skilled in martial arts, he was a general known for his military strategies, ingenious tactics, and unconventional strategic thinking.
In the western Beastman Kingdom, although the land is vast, it is mostly bitter cold. Coupled with the fierce and valiant nature of the beast people in the region, the kingdom’s main strategy in this direction is defensive. Therefore, the responsible leader for overall planning in terms of personality and tactics tends to be the steady and cautious Leyton.
In contrast, the southern territory is quite the opposite.
Although the Abyss City is not very distant in a straight line from the endless abyss, the combined land in the kingdom’s south is still as large as half of the Human United Kingdom.
The soil and resources here are very fertile, well-suited for human habitation. Most of the land has been divided among numerous small countries and even powers organized around cities.
In this region, culture and races are all mixed together, making it chaotic and disorderly. Wars frequently erupt, and every few decades, there are significant changes in the distribution of power and territories among nations.
The people of the kingdom refer to this area as the “Extreme South Uncharted Zone.”
Therefore, as the dominant power in the southwestern part of the world, the Human United Kingdom naturally does not ignore this tempting piece of land.
Although they rarely send large armies directly to conquer a country here, if there is internal unrest or if certain factions actively seek assistance from the mighty kingdom, sending envoys with conditions such as ceding territory or becoming a vassal state is not uncommon...
The kingdom’s response to such situations is self-evident.
Now, many territories extending outward from the Abyss City and several affiliated countries have been formed over the past few centuries in a similar manner.
Hence, the younger, more ambitious and aggressive Bertram is the most suitable to become the general in this region.
However, it has nothing to do with Violet.
After all, they are just staying overnight in Abyss City, taking a temporary break. They will leave the country tomorrow, traversing the Extreme South Uncharted Zone and heading to the territory of the Azure Sky Kingdom.
At night, in the designated envoy residence within Abyss City, Violet and her pet were in their room. The two girls sat cross-legged and prone on the bed. In front of them stood the stone statue of Minerva, The Goddess of Sky and Freedom, obtained from Lilya when they set out.
Previously, the statue had been moving on the carriage and wasn’t well concealed. Violet hadn’t found a suitable time to study it slowly until now, and it seemed convenient.
Of course, the main reason was that the priestess observed that as they approached the south, the subtle soul power contained in the stone statue became gradually more active. By the time they arrived in Abyss City, it had exceeded a certain special peak, and Violet could sense that something had changed.
“Xiao Guang, are you ready?”
“Master, rest assured. No matter what weird thing comes up, as soon as I detect any hostile intent, I’ll take care of it immediately!”
The dragon girl reassured with a wagging tail.
Violet nodded in satisfaction.
Considering that this might involve the existing deity, The Goddess of Sky and Freedom, Violet was dealing with a related item for the first time. In any case, she had to be fully prepared.
Lifting the 【Eternal Scepter of the World’s Heart】 placed beside her, Violet, who found her clothes troublesome and easily soiled, had already changed back into the outwardly visible 【Feather Robe Graria】.
Dressed in a white robe, the vigilant priestess first released a compound barrier with multiple effects such as defense, aura isolation, and reinforcement. Then, she lightly touched the top of the palm-sized stone statue, infusing it with a bit of SP.
Although she didn’t know what this thing was, since it involved soul power, trying it out wouldn’t hurt.
Hum!
“Master, it’s lit up!”
Without Xiao Guang’s reminder, Violet also saw the faint blue light emanating from the stone statue, gradually transforming the entire sculpture into a radiant jade-like brilliance.
She could feel that the stone statue seemed to have truly come alive, actively absorbing Violet’s SP with a force that wasn’t too strong. The blue light near the point of contact between them was particularly dazzling.
“Interesting...”
Honestly, even though the intention of this thing was unclear, the rate at which it absorbed SP was quite slow for Violet. It didn’t even require the use of skills to compensate, automatic recovery alone was sufficient.
Therefore, the priestess did not immediately stop or counterattack.
She wanted to see what this thing was.
On the way, Violet had already tried a simple investigation. The stone statue was not a conventional piece of equipment, and the feedback from 【Information Detection】 was very limited. She only knew that it was a vessel storing some kind of soul power.
Although it seemed to lack mystery, Violet was sure this item was hiding some significant secret.
Being able to forcibly absorb SP directly from Violet, even when the priestess intentionally allowed it without any resistance, was quite remarkable.
The infusion of soul power lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour, and the light on the statue became even more dazzling. The overall texture and feel transformed completely into a transparent blue jade.
At the moment when the light reached its peak, a faint but exceptionally high-level soul power spread out like ripples, blocked by the barrier Violet had pre-set.
After that, the blue light gradually dissipated, and the stone statue returned to its original black-gray appearance, as if nothing had happened.
“???”
Just as the two girls were puzzled and looked at each other, a somewhat illusory but mysterious female voice, as if coming from a vast and boundless place, suddenly echoed in Violet’s mind.
【I never expected that, after a thousand years, I could still absorb such vast and pure divine soul power. Descendant’s little girl, why have you awakened me?】
“Ah?”
Violet was stunned for a moment, only then realizing that this voice seemed to come from the stone statue. During this process, the thing again emitted a faint blue light, though not as conspicuous as before.
Looking at the dragon girl beside her, still wearing a bewildered expression, it seemed she hadn’t sensed anything.
Was it because her fingers touched this thing that she heard it?
Thinking so, the priestess tried to release her hand from the stone statue.
Indeed, the voice immediately disappeared from her mind.