In the Capital of Faerie Kingdom:
"How is it, Shadow? Is there any news?" Magnus asked.
"No, Your Majesty, there is still no news," Shadow shook his head.
"Maybe the letter is just a prank by somebody," Magnus muttered.
"Maybe, it's been five months, and the Etherium Embassy still didn't find anything," Shadow also agreed.
"Then we should stop the losses as soon as possible," Magnus sighed.
It's been five months since they received the letter telling them that the cult leader is hiding in their kingdom.
These five months have been torturous and expensive.
Because the Etherium Embassy has already confirmed that there is no cult activity in his kingdom.
He needs to hire them with his own pocket of money, which stretches the budget of the kingdom.
Now, after five months, he doesn't have enough money to hire them any longer.
"I only hope that the cult leader is not here anymore..." Magnus muttered.
But he didn't know why, but there was a nagging feeling that the cult leader was still here, hiding somewhere.
...
One month later, with the disappearance of the people from the Etherium Embassy.
A shadow in a valley slowly cracked, revealing the leader of the previous cult, Henry.
"Huh?"
"My Lord is really great; he managed to hide me from the eyes of the etherium embassy."
"But the one who snitched on me is really hateful," Henry gritted his teeth in anger.
These five months of hiding have been torturous.
Henry was a tier 4 sky knight, so not eating or drinking for a few months was not a problem.
But he still felt hungry and thirsty.
Plus, the endless darkness that enveloped him distorted his perception of time.
"Don't let me know who snitched on me, or I'll kill you first."
The reason he stayed here is that his god still didn't give up the treasure he felt was here.
Now it's Henry's mission to do whatever it takes to find that treasure.
As for reinforcement, it would not be possible in a short time.
As the previous cult activity in the sunburnt plateau has already alerted the attention of the Etherium Embassy.
...
Three months later.
Henry exhausted himself like a cow, yet he still found nothing.
Without any subordinates, he could only look for the possible treasure personally.
"No, this is inefficient..." Henry muttered.
"I need someone..." Henry thought of Magnus, the king of the Faerie Kingdom.
If it were not for him, he would have found the treasure by now.
"Now I still have the thing that my lord gave me."
The thing that the God of Shadow gave him before he lost the contract five months ago.
First is a one-time divine spell for manipulation.
The other is the knowledge of a divine sacrificial array.
With enough sacrifice, he can have short-term power surpassing his realm.
"Hmph, let's see if you are still alive after this."
...
One month later, outside the Faerie Kingdom:
With the two divine skills bestowed upon him by his god.
Henry planned to control the king of Faerie Kingdom.
Although the king of the Faerie Kingdom was strong-willed.
He only needed a dead body, which is much easier to control.
Henry took this month to set up the sacrificial array to boost his strength and kill the king of Faerie Kingdom.
"Now everything is ready, only the sacrificial material is lacking..." Henry muttered, looking at the capital of the Faerie Kingdom ahead.
"Now let the fun begin."
...
A few days later, in the capital of the Faerie Kingdom:
"What happened to the missing soldiers, Shadow?" Magnus asked.
These days, there were many missing soldiers causing panic throughout the city.
"It should be the leader of the cult from earlier," Shadow said with a dark expression.
"He's here?!" Magnus was also angry.
There had been no movement for these past couple of months.
So he had started to relax, thinking that the cult leader had really escaped.
"Where is he?"
"He should be outside the city. As for specifics, I don't know yet."
"Come, gather the soldiers. I will end this cult leader myself," Magnus ordered.
"But-"
"What?"
"The cult leader should be using the missing soldiers for a sacrifice," Shadow warned.
"This-" Magnus also calmed down and began to think.
If the cult leader was really using soldiers as sacrifices, then he couldn't bring his army.
Otherwise, he would be feeding the enemy itself.
"Then just call those tier 3 individuals in the city."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Shadow bowed as he arranged things.
Now that they knew the cult leader was conducting a sacrifice, they were in a hurry.
The longer they waited, the stronger the cult leader would become.
Magnus calmed down and wrote a letter detailing his will.
"Head eunuch, give this to my sons and daughters if I do not come back."
"Y-your Majesty!" The eunuch was frightened by such a thought.
Without His Majesty suppressing the Faerie Kingdom, it would collapse.
"Relax, it's not like I would really die," Magnus said confidently.
But Magnus knew that this might be the end of his life.
Looking at the bustling city below, he sighed.
"I hope I'm just thinking too much..."
...
Outside the Faerie Kingdom:
"Where is the rest?" Magnus asked, noticing that only a few were present.
"They escaped," Shadow replied.
"A bunch of cowards!" Magnus muttered angrily, thinking of punishing them later.
"Follow me. Let's end this tumor in our kingdom."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Most of them were loyal to King Magnus, so they arrived without hesitation.
Meanwhile, a few others were not fast enough and were caught by Shadow.
"Hmph!" Looking at their resolute expressions, he was still satisfied.
Soon, they flew out searching for the cult leader's activity.
"You're here," Henry muttered, looking at Magnus and his group as they found him.
"Unfortunately, I don't have enough sacrifice..." Henry sighed with pity as he activated the array.
The sacrificial array lit up, disintegrating the corpses and sending a huge surge of power into him.
"You're here!" Magnus shouted angrily.
"Hehe, too late," Henry laughed, feeling himself barely reach tier 5 Lunar Knight.
"Hmph! Just a fake strength!" Magnus snorted.
He also felt Henry's situation, but he still had confidence in his own strength.
"On your positions!" Magnus yelled to the people he had brought.
They were only here to prevent the cult leader from escaping, not to fight.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Now let's see if you can still escape this time," Magnus said angrily, remembering his son's death.
"Hmph!" Henry didn't back down and slashed his sword toward Magnus.
Slash!
Although Magnus reacted and parried Henry's attack, he was still sent flying.
Cough*
Magnus looked warily at Henry.
He had underestimated the power of the cult leader.
Magnus thought it was at most a pseudo-Lunar Knight strength.
Feeling his condition he couldn't be more wrong.
"Let me help," Shadow said.
"Fine, it seems that it's time for our duo to shine again," Magnus smiled at his old friend.
They would only have a chance of winning if they fought using their lives, just like in the old days.
"This is not a battle you can join," Magnus said, urging them to retreat.
Originally, he thought he could defeat the cult leader and use these people to prevent him from escaping.
Now, Magnus didn't even know if he could survive, much less these people.
Maybe they would instead become nourishment for the enemy.
Gathering his strength, Magnus activated his blood-burning technique for a power boost.
Observing Magnus burning his blood, Shadow followed suit.
"I suppose this will be our final battle, my friend," Shadow murmured to himself with a smile.
With a slash, Magnus's sword emitted a red blood mana, and Shadow synchronized his attack to merge with Magnus's, amplifying its strength.
Witnessing the two fighters combining their efforts, Mr. Black sneered.
What could a Tier 4 Sky Knight possibly do?
Although his strength as a tier 5 Lunar knight is somewhat fake.
The Divine sacrifice that was granted to him by his god is not something an ant can contain.
However, when the blood-red sword mana reached him, fear contorted his face as he sensed a cursed energy within it.
This type of attack consumes lifespan.
Although a tier 4 Sky Knight could typically live for a thousand years.
Consuming lifespan to attack will still damage your foundation.
What he doesn't know is that Magnus' path to advancement was already cut off.
Due to this, Magnus had been used to using this forbidden technique consuming his lifespan.
So what's a few more?
Anyway, Magnus would die sooner or later.
As for Shadow, although he could live longer than Magnus.
His strength was artificial and forcibly pushed to advance.
Not only Shadow can no longer advance, he also only had about 300 years of lifespan.
...
Realizing his body couldn't withstand such an attack, Henry parried and was sent flying backward.
Magnus and Shadow shared a tacit understanding.
They wasted no time as they further burned their lifespans, denying Henry any chance.
As Henry was pushed back in the air, he witnessed their actions and cursed under his breath,
"Ruthless bastards."
If he could fully control his strength, he believed he could crush them like tomatoes.
Magnus and Shadow swiftly closed in on Henry's position, launching another attack with their combined blood-red mana.
Naturally, Henry was not about to let this attack land on him.
Twisting his body to the limit, he parried the attack once again.
This back-and-forth of attacking and parrying continued.
Magnus and Shadow played Henry as if he were a tennis ball.
Despite Henry's advantage in power and mana, his speed and reaction remained the same.
After a while of relentless fighting, Magnus and Shadow visibly aged, clearly displaying the toll on their lifespans.
As Henry continued to soar through the air like a tennis ball, he smiled, anticipating his impending victory.
Magnus and Shadow realized that they couldn't prolong the battle any longer.
Initially, they had plans to continue living even if it was just for a short while after this fight.
However, understanding that they couldn't exploit their enemy's weaknesses, they silently prepared to end it once and for all.
Gathering every ounce of their life energy, they positioned themselves behind Henry, ready to strike.
This time, their attack emanated a darker, crimson hue compared to before.
At this moment, Henry already sensed his impending death.
He could feel that this attack was at least ten times more potent than the last.
"I did my best... my lord..." were his last thoughts before the blood-red sword mana sliced him in half.
Magnus and Shadow, on the other hand, resembled mummies drained of essence.
They collapsed to the ground, savoring their final moments of being alive.
Their last attack consumed the entirety of their lifespan.
"It was nice meeting you, my friend," Magnus weakly whispered.
"Likewise, I hope we meet again in our next life," Shadow replied.
A smile graced his face as he reminisced about his time with Magnus.
After fighting their entire lives in the Arcane Continent and realizing they could no longer advance.
They decided to retreat to their origin, the Cursed Continent.
Coming to the most desolate part of it, they set up their kingdom seeking a retired life as kings.
Initially, Shadow had established his own kingdom for retirement.
However, upon discovering he couldn't father an heir, he relinquished the idea.
Instead, he joined his old friend on his journey playing the king and the servant
Though their journey had been arduous and filled with suffering.
Shadow could proudly declare that he had lived a fulfilling life.