"Then who?"
"It's not the time yet for you to know."
"Really?? I don't even have the right to know who is my birth mother?! It's not like I will shout out loud for all the people of the empire to know. I could even swear a blood oath if Your Majesty deems it necessary!" Erza was clearly agitated and angered at the same time as the tone of her voice increased.
The Empress sighed and looked away as she seemed to be contemplating about something. If it was someone else, the person might already lose her life at this point. After all, the Empress was very well known as being cold blooded. She had eradicated numerous families without even sparring the babies and servants.
"Have you heard about 'Blood Curse'?"
"No. What's that?"
"Never mind then…" The Empress sighed again as she seemed to recall an unpleasant memory from the past. "I could tell you who is your real mother, but only after you meet my three conditions."
"Firstly, have you heard about the recent phenomenon in Nanda Empire?"
"Yes.. The one related to the appearance of an old tomb?"
"Yes, that one. I want you to go there and be the one who receive the inheritance. Secondly, I want you to win the Inter Cup three years later."
"Is that mean I need to wait until three years later to know about my mother identity?" Erza was clearly disappointed, thought at least she still had some hopes. The Empress was still willing to tell her.
"Yes. And lastly… You need to reach the peak of Knight Realm by that time."
Erza was stunned speechless. None of the conditions was easy, especially the last one. Erza needed to be a peak level Knight at the age of sixteen! Even Bella, who was considered the pride of Black Snow Empire, could only reach the late stage of Knight Realm by the age of eighteen.
"Fine, I accept." Erza actually had no choice but to accept the conditions. She was not in a position where she could negotiate with the Empress.
"Don't feel too bad. Trust me. These are all for your own good."
"How about my dad?"
"Your dad? What do you want to know about him?" Even though the Empress had tried her best to control her expression, Erza was still able to notice a quick strange expression on her face.
"What's his name? Is he truly a demon? What does he look like?"
The Empress thought for a while before replying, "I'll tell you who is your father at the same time I tell you about your mother. Of course, it depends on whether you could meet all the three conditions or not."
In the end, Erza asked the Empress about late Emperor Lin. As his daughter, the Empress surely knew more about her father than average people. They talked until it was noon before Erza excused herself.
Still sitting on her chair, the Empress looked at Erza's back with a complicated expression as she made her way out from the Palace.
.......................................…
Few days later, Erza departed from Black Snow Imperial City to Nanda Empire. She had notified her two aunties about her departure, and they fully supported her decision. It was very important to let a youth took on an adventure. No one would be able to grow if she always stayed in her comfort zone.
After receiving endless reminders from her two aunties, Erza set off for her first adventure. She passed by several mountains and cities along her way but she did stop to take a break at all. For her, this kind of non-stop travelling was also a sort of practice.
After two and a half day of travelling, the mountain range became much quieter, while Erza's expression turned increasingly serious. She had already reached the deeper parts of Highest Zero Mountain Range, the beasts that run amuck here were all very formidable. A little carelessness might draw a group of beasts, at that time, even she would have to turn to flee. Only after passing this mountain range, she would reach the desolate land.
She met less and less people as she continued her journey. She had rushed for half a day, and had only found one group of people. After all, it was no simple matter to pass through the obstruction of numerous beasts to arrive here. They were all wild beasts, and not every empires willing to welcome beasts in their cities.
Of course, although Erza had keen senses, there were always exceptions. Thus, on her journey, Erza had also encountered a single group beast attack. It was from a group of six Snow Wolves which had the strength of mid level Knight Realm experts.
Initially, she was a little panicked by the attack, however, she quickly steadied herself. Though a group of mid level Knight Realm beasts was very strong, it was still something that Erza could handle.
After an intense battle, three Snow Wolves were dead, while the other three fled. Erza was forced to use her Cloak of Aztaroth in the beginning, but later on she dealt with them in an open manner.
After experiencing this attack, Erza became more cautious. Luckily, another attack did not occur. When it was about afternoon time, Erza finally passed through the forest and appeared on the desolate land.
She was surprised to find out that so-called 'Desolate Land' was actually a mountain peak. It seemed like a great battle had happened here before in the past and the mountain was slashed in half as a result of that battle.
Therefore, the mountain peak did not have sharp point, and lush vegetation spread out from the mountain. In addition, one could faintly make out traces of an ancient building, made of huge rocks, concealed among the vegetation at the top of the mountain. It was far from the desolate image in Erza's mind.
"Is that where the old tomb is located…" Erza murmured under her breath as she gazed at the mountain top, doubt and excitement flitted across her eyes. She was sure that she was not lost. She had followed exactly where her map pointed her to go, and it was given directly by her Third Auntie, so there was no need to doubt about its authenticity.
Furthermore, based on her perception, she was able to sense an unusual undulation in the skies around the mountain top, which should be due to the seal.
As she got closer, Erza saw many tents in her surrounding. She was inevitably somewhat surprised, she did not expect that there were already so many people who had arrived here first. There was truly nothing to say about the allure of this old tomb.
Erza thought for a bit before making her plan. Still wearing her Cloak of Aztaroth, Erza flied away and disappeared into the white clouds.
A day later, a party made of three young people appeared in the camp situated at the foot of the mountain. This camp was evidently formed by countless teams, after all, the deeper parts of the Highest Zero Mountain Range were very dangerous.
At any time, formidable Wild Beasts would charge out. Even a late stage Knight Realm practitioner did not dare to set up camp by himself. Thus, everyone set up camp together, if a strong Wild Beast were to attack, they would be able to join hands and deal with it.
Although everyone were competitors, before they saw any treasures, they did not need to fall out with one another.
The appearance of this three-men party clearly drew the attention of quite a few people in the campsite. However, when they saw the clan emblem on their chests, they fearfully withdrew their gazes. It was Ling Clan!
The Ling Clan was considered as a colossal existence in Nanda Empire, ordinary factions did not have the guts to provoke them.
Thanks to the reputation of the Ling Clan, the party successfully entered the camping grounds. As they gazed at the bustling atmosphere within the camp, they could not help but be amazed. If it was before, no one would have imagined that such a market-like scene would appear in this extremely dangerous part of the Highest Zero Mountain Range.
"To think that the Lang Clan have also arrived."
After entering the camp, the three people suddenly looked towards a high ground nearby. There were currently some people were watching them from that spot.
"The Lang Clan…"
Upon hearing this name, one of the youths' heart trembled a little. This Lang Clan was also part of Nanda Empire's four great clans. They were originally came from Black Snow Empire's Lang Clan. However, they later separated themselves from the main clan and established a faction here in Nanda Empire.
One of the youths was called Ling Tian. His eyes also looked over, only to see a group of young people standing on that piece of high ground. They were playfully staring back, and as Ling Tian's gaze swept over them, it came to rest on a man at the centre of the group.
The man wore yellow and seemed to give out a noble aura. His face was handsome and his aura was extraordinary. As he stood within the crowd, he seemed particularly prominent. And, what caught Ling Tian's attention the most, was that he sensed a trace of late stage Knight power undulations from this man's body.
A serious look swept across Ling Tian's eyes, these great clans were indeed extraordinary. This man's age was likely only around twenty three or four, yet, he had already reached this level. One could tell that even among the younger generation of the Lang Clan, this person was no ordinary character.
For the people in Nanda Empire, this level of talent was already extraordinary. Of course, they could not be compared with the standards in Black Snow Empire, the overlord of the Northern Continent.
"I did not think that even Lang Pan had come this time…" As he gazed at that man in yellow, the other man in Ling Tian' group cursed their luck.
"Don't bother about them, let's set up our tents and rest." The only girl in their group casually said. Based on her tone, it seemed like she did not like these Lang Clan members.
The rest of them also nodded their heads, before they started setting up their tents.
"How many groups of people did the four great clans sent over this time?" Ling Tian approached The girl and asked. Actually, Ling Tian's group did not come from the main clan. They were just a small branch clan of Ling Clan located nearby this mountain range.
"For groups similar to our own, only the Lang Clan sent over their younger generation members, to take this as an experience. However, each of the four great clans will send over their true elite practitioners." The girl explained.
"Since this old tomb is so valuable, wouldn't it be easier for the heads of these four great clans to directly intervene?"
"Do you think these people will make a move so lightly? Furthermore, if one of them intervenes, the other parties will surely stop them. At the end of the day, it will just be a waste of their time. According to my knowledge, the elite practitioners sent by our four great clans should be the finest younger generation members. Hehe, these guys are truly monsters. Even in the entire Nanda Empire, they are considered as exceedingly dazzling existences."
Ling Tian silently nodded his head.
"Big brother Ling Guo and the rest should arrive here by tomorrow. At that time, this seal will naturally be broken." The girl lifted her beautiful eyes, as she stared at the somewhat distorted sky, before she laughed and said.
Ling Tian was silent, as his eyes faintly shimmered. Tomorrow, he would finally meet that man...
It was a night without conversation in these ancient woods deep within the mountains. The fact that so many people were crowded together provided some degree of comfort. Even though growls from wild beasts echoed out quite often during the night, overall, it was still relatively peaceful.
When dawn of the next day arrived, the camp ground became rowdy once again. However, most people today were very excited. Evidently, most of them knew that the seal would be forcefully broken today. Even though they had no chance to obtain the most precious item in the old tomb, any loot they obtained would make this trip worthwhile.
Ling Tian sat on a giant boulder, with both of his eyes shut. Below him, the other man and the girl constantly looked up towards the skies, eager looks filling their eyes.
As they waited eagerly, time slowly flowed by. Just as the sun had reached the middle of the sky, from the distant horizon, the sound of wind suddenly rumbled forth.
Just as the sound of wind rang out, Ling Tian's eyes suddenly jutted open. He could feel that all the essences on these lands were now faintly gravitating towards that direction.
"Ling Guo!"
Ling Tian lifted his head to look at the northern part of the skies. There, he saw a red flash streaking through the skies like a shooting star, descending from the heavens.