Badge in Azure

Chapter 1316: The Expedition (Part 2)

Saleen had little concern about the expedition because he had a level 13 being at his side, Rafel the archangel, who was very interested in the expedition. Unless Saleen was again trapped in a sealed off place all on his own, he would not be in any danger if he were to run into difficult enemies.

The Floating City did not travel quickly. It was used to train the troops while they were flying, allowing them to learn aerial combat.

With not much to do, Rafel sought out Saleen.

"My lord, you're one of the more powerful mages on this plane, and the plane's power is gradually rising," Rafel said "If you were to keep your hands away from all these matters and dedicate yourself to your training, you would quickly advance, just like how your teacher did. You be able to maintain your edge in terms of levels. Why take the risk to fight the creatures of alien planes?"

"Why would you protect the metal angels, Rafel?" Saleen asked.

Rafel was a bit puzzled and said, "I know that you possess an interdimensional space, and she could completely transfer all of the ones you want to protect there. There is no need for you to go all out like this."

"If the god you serve still lived, would you have left your divine kingdom?" Saleen asked.

"So, do mages believe in something as well?" Rafel replied.

"Of course, Myers Mainland is my home, and I don't want to see my home reduced to ashes and ruins," Saleen said. "When the time comes for me to die, I'd feel like I had nowhere to go to."

"That elf does not seem to want to go home," Rafel said and pointed to Eleanor.

Eleanor felt irked. Before responding, Nailisi said, "Humans, elves, and demons all originated from a single bloodline. You wouldn't be capable of comprehending the sentimental attachment everyone here has for their home. You've just acquired a bit of emotions. This is something you'd find near-impossible to comprehend for the time being."

"Of course I understand. You're all afraid." Rafel's words were getting increasingly pointed, but that had not been her intentions. "Those without faith are always weak."

Daniel was the one getting irked now and asked, "Faith? Is faith just about giving up every single being of yours to a god? I believe in death, but not the God of the Underworld. You wouldn't be able to comprehend that ever."

Rafel was not angered. A human death mage who only mingled with spirits was not worth getting angry over.

Saleen frowned. None of his men was being friendly to Rafel, which was rather weird for him. It had only been Nailisi who did not like Rafel. Now, not even Jola probably liked her.

"My lord, the invasion from the abomination plane will not be too troublesome this time," Rafel said.

Saleen thought, You're a level 13 angel. Of course it wouldn't be troublesome for you!

He soon realized why things with the archangel had been so. So that's how it is. My people don't like Rafel because of her level. A weapon of war created by a god and of a level higher than their own. Everyone is fearing for themselves.

Besides, it was entirely possible for Rafel to break the contract. Saleen smirked. There was no way the constellation contract could be broken. It was a contract scroll that used up a considerable amount of his constellation power to draft, and the ink used for drafting it was the blood extracted from dragons.

The difference in level would have loosened the contract's bindings, but his mental powers were not inferior to Rafel's. The level difference was practically non-existent. At the very least, that was how things were regarding the contract.

Saleen thought, Should I just let Rafel take on Fycro then? Killing Fycro would mean getting rid of a difficult enemy at the borders. However, Fycro is a powerful card to take on the Holy See nonetheless. Could Fycro even be killed in the first place?

He began to grow doubtful. Joey was unable to get rid of Fycro when that powerful mage still had possession of the Seal of Divine Power. Both parties suffered grievous injuries from the clash.

Fycro might have advanced further. If he had indeed advanced and possessed powerful godly items, a level 11 Fycro would be able to take on powerful ones at level 12. He might even been able to secure a quick victory.

While Rafel was a level 13 being, the power throughout Myers Mainland had yet to completely advance. She was still suppressed by the powers of the plane. Fycro, on the other hand, was a native of Myers Mainland. His powers had reached the permitted limit of the plane.

There might have even been some secret arts that allowed him to break through such limits, allowing a human to control equipment that had the power to exceed the limit of the plane. For instance, sealing off a certain area would enable the area to function as a parallel plane of Myers Mainland for a short period of time. Under such circumstances, casting powers of sealed equipment would have allowed Fycro to reach level 13.

Saleen quickly dismissed thoughts about killing Fycro. Besides, Fycro had a huge number of ascetics serving him. Getting on the bad side of ascetics would cause a lot of trouble. It was best to leave Fycro alone before the Holy See crumbled. At the very least, the conflict between Fycro and the Holy See was still in irreconcilable one.

"Rafel, do you intend to fight this time?" Saleen asked.

"Of course, my lord," Rafel said. "While I do not see you as my master, I'd be willing to assist you, should you require me to fight. If your powers exceed level 16 one day, I might actually see you as my god."

Nailisi pouted and thought, If master had not intended to take you in, did you really think you'd have been able to escape? I have once been four to five levels higher than master, but he subjugated me all the same. You could never comprehend how conniving master actually is.

"My allies would be on guard against me if they were to discover how high your level is," Saleen said. "If that happens, I'd have to change a good deal of my plans."

"Are you asking me to suppress my powers?" Rafel asked. "That'd be easy."

She drew a holy prose rune on her forehead. The rune seeped into her skin. The terrifying aura around her dissipated without a trace. The people in the tower became a lot more relaxed. It was a simple seal that allowed Rafel to keep her status at the pinnacle of level ten, but she would be able to unravel the seal when there was a need for it.

"Your wings will alert my allies as well," Saleen said.

"That is also simple to deal with," Rafel said as her wings turned into pure energy and retreated back into her body.

Saleen found Rafel's attitude exasperating. "Your weapon…"

"I'm adept at using any weapon capable of killing any type of living being," Rafel said. "I shall make do with anything you give me, my lord."

The powerful angel seemed to have no temper at all and would have gone with anything Saleen said or did. Furthermore, the way Rafel spoke had few emotions that could have been captured. When she was talking about killing living things, she did not imbue the words with any excitement or sadness, but the gods created them specifically for doing such things.

"Well, just stick close and protect me," Saleen said. "I'll lend this gear to you for the time being. If you find them unsuitable, make sure to give them back to me."

He took out something he had stored for a very long time. It was a set of Devil Possession Armor, which was crafted with the best materials he had been able to gather. The Devil Possession Armor did not possess flight abilities, but Rafel did not need something like that. If Saleen did not use any special skills, there was no way he could keep up with Rafel in flight.

The weapon lent to Rafel was a huge blade. It was part of some loot Saleen had acquired and possessed powerful strength attributes. When it was restored, it became extremely sharp.

"Rule weapons…" Rafel took the blade and said, "This weapon will suit me well. But, my lord, didn't you ask me to protect you? This is an offensive weapon."

"There is nothing you need to worry about when it comes to energy attacks," Saleen said. "I can take care of those. I'd need to kill any assassin or warrior who managed to close in on me, allowing me an easier time to cast spells."

Rafel nodded. That was not a problem. She was quite proficient at taking on warriors. As for the thing about Saleen being able to defend against all types of energy attacks, she had no concerns about that. As long as Saleen stayed alive, she had divine arts capable of saving him. Her god might have died, but the divine powers left within her were still intact.

"If she is there to protect our lord, what should I do?" Jola looked rather restless.

He eyed and gauged Rafel from top to bottom, seemingly able to tell something about the angel's constitution, which was different from humans.

"The Floating City shall land to fight," Saleen said. "The abominations will attack the city. What should you do? Fight, of course."

He wanted very much to kick Jola's butt. Things always had a way of turning weird and stupid with him around.

"Fight, eh…" Jola sighed but did not say anything much. He wanted to know if there were beauties among the abominations.

"Jola, there are beauties among the abominations," Rafel suddenly said. "From the perspective of humans, they are very alluring."

Jola was stunned and pointed at Rafel. "Are you peering into my mind?"

Rafel pursed her lips, smiled, and said, "That would be rather rude. I've observed you for some time and have deduced what is going through your mind according to your personality. It isn't mind-reading. It is simply calculations."

Jola's face turned red as he said, "Well, so long as you're not doing any mind-reading."

Rafel turned a blind eye to Jola's flirting attempts. She said to Saleen, "My lord, this Devil Possession Armor has little damage on angels, so I'd be able to wear it. However, I'd need something similar to this."

She pointed at Saleen's Starline Bangle. After seeing Saleen frowning, she said, "I'd do with something like the Thunder Dragon Blaster as well. My targeting mental powers rarely allow anything to escape my sight."

Saleen was even more puzzled. His Floating City was modified, and there were huge amounts of magic cannons and large scale Hogina's Guns installed at the edges. He would hardly need to do any ranged attacks himself. The 100,000 enchanters would be able to man all those weapons.

"My lord, you wanted me to hide my identity as an angel," Rafel said. "As such, I will not be able to use Purification. I'd like to modify something in one such equipment, which would enable me to fix Purification onto it and make it look something similar to the magic spell Disintegration."

"You're capable of modifying equipment?" Saleen asked.

"Of course, but I have nothing with me, and you are not giving me any alchemical materials," Rafel said. "Otherwise, I'd be able to enhance all of the equipment of your troops by at least one level."

She looked at Saleen innocently, yet he was able to see mocking expressions in her golden eyes. He thought, This angel sure as hell doesn't look like a weapon of war at all.