The Herb King



While everyone was still shocked by Aenwyn's aura, a Level 4 Esper suddenly arrived and reported in a joyful tone. "Sir Argus has arrived!" 

Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up. 

"He is finally here." Aethelwolf chuckled as he went to look for Argus. The others glanced at each other and followed behind him. Meanwhile, Aenwyn cast a deep look at Empress Shiphra, but she chose to stay with Ramiel and the Shadow Guards. 

Soon, they saw Argus. He was surrounded by a group of Level 5 Espers, but the guy ignored them as he walked toward Aethelwolf. "Sir Aethelwolf!" He cupped his fists as a greeting.

Aethelwolf also returned the greeting with a nod of his head. "Now that you're here, we can start making some preparations. Some empires haven't arrived yet and they might take some time to reach the borders of the Northern Region especially the empires located in the Southern Region. We should begin with the meeting while the Underworlders are still gathering their forces. We can inform the others about our plan once they arrive." He suggested. 

When the Level 5 Espers heard his words, they nodded their heads in agreement. They didn't have much time so they could only make some preparations in advance.

"Sir Aethelwolf is right. We shouldn't delay this any further and begin with our preparations!" 

"That's right!"

"Actually, I have a better idea." Aethelwolf suddenly thought of his new creation. It was an upgraded version of the Communication Rune. Only one thing was added and it was the video call function! No matter how far the others were, they would be able to talk as if they were in front of each other! This Communication Rune was still not in production so he only have more than a hundred of them in his storage space. However, it was enough for the leaders of the various empires to communicate in real-time regardless of the distance between them. 

Aethelwolf grabbed the upgraded version of the Communication Rune and handed one each to the Level 5 Espers. "The Communication Rune in your hands is different than what you guys normally use. I've developed a method to add the virtual projection function in the device which will help us communicate..." Aethelwolf explained the functionality of the device and when everyone heard how it works, they were dumbfounded. Most of them were experts who use most of their time in leveling up or training their weapon proficiency. They had less time for other things so the upgraded version of the Communication Rune was like a product of the future to them. 

Everyone stared at Aethelwolf in admiration. Other than being a powerful Esper, he was also a great inventor and Engraver! After all, only high-level Engravers could create such phenomenal runic devices! 

"You've really broadened our horizons, Sir Aethelwolf! You can even make such a highly-advanced device!" Gilbert Holt sighed and shook his head while inspecting the upgraded version of the Communication Rune. 

"With this device, we can have a meeting even if the others are not here. What a convenient runic device!" Empress Shiphra was delighted and she immediately kept the Communication Rune inside her storage ring. 

"Thank you so much for such a wonderful gift, Sir Aethelwolf! Haha!" Lark Whitmond shamelessly kept the rune inside his storage ring while laughing joyfully. 

The others were embarrassed, but they also kept the runes.

Seeing this, Aethelwolf's mouth twitched. He only planned to let them temporarily use the runic devices, but since they had already shamelessly kept his items, he could only shake his head helplessly. "It's not a big deal. It's just some runic devices. Please have someone deliver these devices to the leaders who are not here yet." He grabbed some more devices and handed them to Eliazar. 

"Don't worry, Sir Aethelwolf. I'll send our fastest experts to deliver these items." Eliazar smiled happily as he took the devices from Aethelwolf's hands. 

***

It has been twenty hours since the group competition started and only four hours remained until the end of the competition. There were many changes in the rankings, but the top ten rarely changed in the past few hours. Sitting at the top spot was still the team of the Azure Phoenix Empire led by Princess Altina. Coming in second place was the team of the Paramount Heaven Empire. The point difference between the two teams was huge and it was almost certain that the Azure Phoenix Empire would come first in this group competition. 

Meanwhile, the Leone Empire's team was now in the seventh spot and they were only a few points away from taking the sixth spot! 

At this moment Alec and the others were confronting another team. Their enemies were a team from a big empire so they had ten members, but even though the Leone Empire's team was outnumbered, the two teams were even in terms of fighting power! 

Alec and Janrose were fighting five people at once, while the remaining five were fighting against Michael, Grace, and Christopher. 

"Give us all of your Keys!" The leader of the opposing group shouted arrogantly. He was a mid stage Level 3 Esper and all his teammates were also Level 3 Espers. He was confident that they emerge as the winner once Alec and the others are exhausted. 

"You are too confident in yourself. We haven't even shown our strongest techniques." Christopher chuckled in disdain. 

"You talk too much, kid!" A person wielding a sword suddenly appeared behind Christopher and slashed down his sword. 

Swoosh!

As if he had eyes on his back, Christopher grabbed his Divine-Rated cauldron and used it as a shield. 

Bang!

After the enemy's sword came in contact with his cauldron, the sword cracked before it fragmented into smaller pieces! 

Shatter!

The man was shocked when he saw his Unique-Rated sword shattering into countless pieces. "What?!" 

"I don't have a strong weapon, but I can use this as a hammer. Hehe." Christopher raised his cauldron and smacked his opponent's head. The guy anxiously raised his arms to block the cauldron, but he was still sent flying by the attack! 

Crush! 

Bang!

"Oh no! I think I killed him!" Christopher exclaimed nervously. He dashed to where the guy crushed into and grabbed his arm to check his pulse. When Christopher felt the beating of his heart, he heaved a sigh of relief. "He is still alive." 

Suddenly, an Elder arrived and took the unconscious man out of the island. 

"Beat him up! Beat him until his parents can no longer recognize him!" The remaining nine enemies shot toward Christopher and released one powerful spell after another. 

"Yikes! Bye, guys! I'm gonna leave first! Hahaha!" Christopher guffawed as he activated the teleport function of the rune in his arm. His figure blurred before disappearing from everyone's sight. 

"Dammit! He got away!" The enemies roared furiously. 

"That damnable kid! I'll beat him up once we get out of this island!" 

Looking at their agitated enemies, Michael muttered. "I think we should run now." Alec and the other two nodded their heads in agreement. They then fled from the area without looking back.

"They are trying to escape! Capture them! They have a lot of Keys in their hands!" 

Now that Christopher was forced to escape the island, the Leone Empire's team was significantly weakened with only four members left in their team. They had no choice but to immediately run every time they encounter a team with ten members. 

Soon, another four hours passed by and the group competition officially ended. 

1st Place - Azure Phoenix Empire

2nd Place - Paramount Heaven Empire

3rd Place...

4th Place...

5th...

6th Place - Leone Empire

Looking at their rank, Alec and the others shook their head regretfully. The other teams were also strong and they weren't even able to reach the top five. However, they already did great for a small empire with only five members. 

Suddenly, Christopher shuddered and he couldn't help but turn his gaze to the side. He noticed a man with a huge bump on his forehead. There were nine people behind him and all of them were angrily looking at Christopher and the others. 

"Isn't that the guy who got smacked by your cauldron?" Michael whispered into his ears.

Hearing this, Christopher burst into laughter.

"Silence!" Omar hovered above the stadium. 

"The group competition has come to an end and the total points of your teams will be added. In five minutes, we will show you the final rankings of your teams for this grand competition!" Omar announced. 

The crowd and the various teams were filled with anticipation when they heard this. 

While the Elders were tallying each team's points, everyone waited nervously. The top teams will receive bountiful rewards from the Mystic Island and their empires would also be ranked in the Holy Rankings! This was a glory that everyone wanted! 

Soon, a projection appeared on various corners of the city. 

1st Place - Azure Phoenix Empire

2nd Place - Paramount Heaven Empire

3rd Place - Leone Empire

4th Place...

5th...