Summoning the Holy Sword

When Rhode arrived at the hall, he saw the two emissaries scanning the room curiously. Compared to other places, Rhode's palace wasn't as grand and luxurious and could even be considered relatively plain without the mighty throne. As a player, he wasn't too mindful about having a mighty reputation. He thought that as long as others respected him, he didn't need to go to that far of an extent.

It was due to this that instead of saying that Grandia's palace was a hall of deliberation, it was more like a beautiful garden. The semi-circular stairwell resembled that of a school platform. The white, circular conference hall was surrounded by lush greenery and clear, flowing spring water that was extraordinarily pleasing to the eyes and added elegance and solemnity to the place. Moreover, the drifting clouds and ocean could be seen through the glass panel in the middle of the ground. From a certain perspective, this deepened the concept that Grandia was a floating city in the sky worth revering. However, this wasn't due to the pressure from the surroundings. Instead, anyone who personally witnessed something that they couldn't achieve themselves would respect it from the bottom of their hearts.

Upon seeing Rhode's arrival, the two emissaries immediately half-knelt.

"It's our pleasure meeting you. Thank you for allowing us into your city, mighty dragon soul heir, Your Majesty the Void Dragon."

"You're welcome."

Rhode felt unused to this official greeting, but he simply waved his hand, signaling for them to rise. He scanned the two female emissaries from head to toe and realized that they looked similar to the elf guards. They wore a full set of glass armor and their faces were covered by the hood, revealing only their pointy ears. But even so, he recognized their true identity by the circular golden badge on their white armor.

"Sacred Guards of the Country of Law?"

Rhode asked, at the same time feeling dubious because everyone knew that the Country of Law was a nation of politics and religion. But every player knew that the Country of Law wasn't equal to the churches. Although churches were distributed all around the Country of Law, which made it seem like a religious country, only 'derivatives' of the twin dragons attended them. It was as though a wealthy man investing in financial management software, but that software didn't represent the wealth that the rich person possessed. On the other hand, the churches were like the 'financial management software'. It promoted popular beliefs and never encouraged people to worship a specific figure. If the Country of Law and the churches were truly as one, they didn't need to do so. As long as they pushed the twin dragons up the altar, wouldn't the worshipers get whatever they want?

But the churches didn't do so. They promoted beliefs and never encouraged people to worship a specific figure, and at the same time was responsible for financial turnover, circulation, and contract examinations. Perhaps the natives couldn't see it, but players had criticized that if they removed the fact that the churches promoted beliefs, they would be no different from an international financial management organization.

As an experienced player, Rhode more or less had some knowledge about the political system in the Dragon Soul Continent. He initially thought that the emissaries would be one of the churches' higher-ups or representatives from the Elf Forest, who were basically diplomatic emissaries. This was because no matter the Elves or churches, they all belonged to the twin dragons. But it wasn't so for the Sacred Guards. From a certain perspective, they represented the twin dragons and were not the collection of political organizations like the churches or the Country of Law. This also meant that this was an official invitation from the twin dragons.

"Yes, Your Majesty. We're the members of the Country of Law's Sacred Guards."

One of the elves stepped forth and bowed respectfully. Then, she reached for a gorgeous envelope from the fold of her clothes and presented it to Rhode.

"We're here, abiding by the orders of our two Majesties, to invite you to the Order Ceremony held in the Sacred Palace on the 3rd of the month of radiance."

"Order Ceremony?"

Rhode accepted the enveloped and asked. He was sure that he had never heard of a similar ceremony.

"Yes, not only you, but His Majesty the Dark Dragon Ion and Her Majesty the Light Dragon Lilian will also be there."

Ion and Lilian will be there too?

Even though Rhode remained expressionless, his head was quickly doing the math. If this was just a conference on political trends of the continent, Lilian wouldn't need to participate at all because the others clearly know that she has no official power in the Country of Light. So it will be meaningless even if they invite her… Not only that, but the Dark Dragon will also be there? Since I'm also invited…

Rhode came to a conclusion. Without the need to understand the purpose of this ceremony, it was apparent from the attendees.

They were all the heirs of the creator dragon souls.

Since that was the case, it wasn't a mystery why players weren't aware of it. Only the creator dragon souls could participate in this ceremony, and players had no power to get involved. Even though Rhode didn't know the intention behind this invitation, this was an opportunity for the dragon soul heirs to communicate and interact. Besides, this might also be the perfect chance for him to display his powers to the other dragon soul heirs.

Rhode opened the envelope and almost simultaneously, the system prompt popped up in front of him.

[Triggered Mission: Order Ceremony]

[The kings of the creator dragon souls shall once again gather. All your actions shall determine if you'll gain their recognition and be on equal footing with the ancient guardians. After you're recognized, your reputation as the dragon soul heir shall exist and shine.]

[Special Condition: From the start until the end of this mission, Phantom Guardians will not be bound by territory limitations.]

Just as I expected.

Rhode twitched his brows. This was obviously a meeting for the dragon soul heirs to display their strengths. He could only truly be termed as the Void Dragon after being recognized by the other four dragon soul heirs. The fact that the system automatically unlocked the territory limitations for the Phantom Guardians meant that the three Archangels and four legendary generals would also be there. On the other hand, the elemental lord, Deity Wardens, Mini Bubble Gum and Canary would also participate too. In terms of strength, Gillian would have no difficulties facing the three Archangels or one of the four legendary generals on her own, while Marlene could also take on one of the legendary generals or an Archangel. Even though Mini Bubble Gum and Canary had weaker equipment and weapons, they were advantageous with their rich battle experiences, so they shouldn't have a hard time taking down one of them together. As for Christie and Alice… Rhode had no intention of risking Christie's life despite the other Christie being so powerful. After all, it was Christie's body and with her current health, she would only be prone to more danger. So it would be safer to leave her in Grandia and be kept as a trump card. As for Alice, Rhode didn't see her yet. It looked like it was about time to start searching for her in every corner of the library.

"The ceremony will be taking place in five days' time. We will lead you and your subjects to the Sacred Palace, Your Majesty. If you have any questions, please let us know. We will do our best to answer your doubts."

"Everything is fine, thanks for asking."

Rhode put away the envelope and scanned the surroundings.

"Alright then, during this period of time, please have a good rest in Grandia."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The two elf emissaries bowed humbly before leaving the hall. Rhode puckered his brows and pondered deeply. Participating in the ceremony would be the biggest test for him, especially when he had to meet the Dark Dragon face-to-face. He knew that the Dark Dragon Ion was a tough nut to crack and if he were to expose his weakness to the Dark Dragon, perhaps the undead army would attack his territory in the near future. Not only that, but he also had to meet Lilian and Lydia. How should he go about speaking to Lydia about his newfound identity?

Rhode shook his head. Compared to these problems, he should be considering who would be joining him for the ceremony. Alice was too unpredictable and according to the other Christie, she was only a spirit. He didn't know how much strength she had. Before he headed off for the ceremony, it seemed like he had to have a discussion with her.

No matter what, didn't the other Christie say that Alice would appear when the time was right?

And now should be the most opportune timing.