Chapter 230
Chapter 230. Destroyed; Marcus’s Ambition
The Magical Protective Barrier around Windcleaving Gorge had already taken on a sickly dark green hue. The arcane spores had woven themselves into an airtight web across its surface, and every pulse devoured the luster of the crystals.
William’s fingers whitened around the communication crystal. When Xilan’s voice came from within, it carried a tremor so faint it was almost imperceptible.
“Your Highness, Designation 734 has confessed.”
The faint hope he had still clung to three days ago was completely shattered in that moment.
William stared at the green spreading across the barrier and listened as Xilan repeated Designation 734’s words.
“Father’s newly made spores live on power. As long as the power does not run dry, they will not die.”
A chill surged up from the soles of William’s feet.
“So as long as the barrier remains, these things will never disappear?”
William’s voice was very low, as though he feared disturbing those invisible spores.
After a moment of silence, Designation 734’s mechanical reply came through the communication crystal.
“Yes... Father said this is a ‘perpetual-motion’ design. As long as there is a source of power, they can multiply without end.”
William abruptly cut off the communication. Fine cracks spread across the crystal in his palm.
Marcus.
The name was like a needle dipped in poison, stabbing into his temples until they throbbed.
Destroy the experimental records? No. This was clearly an even more vicious scheme.
If the Royal Family personally destroyed the barrier, it would be equivalent to releasing the spores from the gorge.
If they maintained the barrier, they could only watch as the kingdom’s energy crystals were gnawed away bit by bit, until the entire kingdom’s magical reserves were dragged into ruin.
“What a fine way to strike at the root.”
William cursed under his breath, stabbing his finger heavily onto Windcleaving Gorge’s position on the map.
That place had once been the kingdom’s most secret magical laboratory. Now, it had become a calamity hanging above their heads.
He turned to look at the commander of the Mage Corps behind him, his gaze as cold as ice.
“Pass down my order. Set up the Meteorfall Array.”
The knight commander’s expression changed drastically.
“Your Highness, that is a Forbidden Arts. Once it is detonated, the entire Windcleaving Gorge will collapse into an abyss.”
“That is still better than letting the spores spread to the Royal Capital.”
William cut him off, his tone allowing no argument.
“Prepare it now. The array must be completed before nightfall. In addition, transfer three hundred miners here. Have them dig isolation trenches around the outer perimeter of the gorge and pour in molten lead. The spores must not be given any chance to seep into the soil.”
The commander gritted his teeth, accepted the order, and withdrew.
William was the only one left in the tent. Outside, sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting shifting shadows across his face.
He walked to the window and looked toward Windcleaving Gorge. The green barrier there was already like a piece of rotting jade, radiating an ominous glow.
Marcus was probably hiding somewhere, laughing coldly as he watched the Royal Family trapped in this dilemma.
William clenched his fists, his nails sinking deep into his palms. Unfortunately for Marcus, he had miscalculated one thing. The Royal Family would rather destroy everything than let his scheme succeed.
At dusk, a low, muffled hum rose around the outskirts of Windcleaving Gorge. A formation formed by three hundred mages lit up with blood-colored patterns across the ground, like an enormous curse mark that enveloped the entire gorge.
William stood on a distant hill and watched the spores within the barrier still writhing madly. Then he suddenly raised his hand and swung it down.
“Detonate it.”
There was no earth-shaking explosion, only a continuous, grating crush that set one’s teeth on edge.
The earth began to tremble violently. The outline of Windcleaving Gorge sank again and again within his sight. The green barrier seemed to be seized by an invisible giant hand and shattered instantly into countless points of light, before it was completely swallowed by the collapsing layers of rock.
When the dust settled, only a bottomless dark pit remained. In the surrounding isolation trenches, the molten lead was slowly solidifying, forming a silent barrier.
William stood on the hill, the wind lifting his cloak. Fine dust clung to his face.
He knew this was not the end.
Marcus was still alive, and the threat of the orcs still lingered at the border. But at least for this moment, he had protected the kingdom’s final line.
“Search,” he said quietly to the Shadow Guard beside him. “Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find Marcus.”
The Shadow Guard accepted the order and left. William stared at that collapsed land for a long time without moving.
At that moment, Marcus had brought several hundred members of the Experimental Legion to the small Eden Kingdom beside the Dragon Kingdom.
Inside a manor in the Royal Capital of the Eden Kingdom, candlelight shone across Marcus’s sharply defined face.
He wore a silk formal robe tailored by the Eden Royal Family, and his fingers toyed with a ruby-inlaid ring.
It was a token the king had just bestowed upon him, symbolizing his engagement to the princess.
Several hundred soldiers from the Experimental Legion were stationed outside the city. Their armor glinted coldly beneath the moonlight, like a pack of dormant beasts.
“Lord Marcus,” a trusted aide of the Eden King said with a bow, “Her Highness the Princess is waiting for you in the garden.”
Marcus raised his eyes, and the faintest smile curved his lips.
He understood perfectly well that the old king merely wanted to use his military strength to stabilize his tottering royal authority.
The Eden Kingdom was caught between the Dragon Kingdom and a neighboring kingdom, suffering constant pressure from both sides. The Experimental Legion he had brought had become the “lifeline” in the old king’s eyes.
In the garden, the Second Princess of Eden wore a long white dress and held a rose in her hand. When she saw him approach, she curtsied, but wariness was hidden deep in her eyes.
Marcus walked up to her and slipped the ruby ring onto her finger.
“Beautiful princess, you will soon understand that choosing me was the wisest decision Eden could have made.”
“What you want has never been the throne, has it?”
The princess suddenly raised her head, her voice very soft.
“You brought those strange soldiers with you and studied those... glowing spores. What exactly are you trying to do?”
Marcus smiled. He did not answer directly, but merely looked toward the direction beyond the city.
“When I sit upon the throne, the Dragon Kingdom will learn what a true ‘gift’ is.”
He thought of Windcleaving Gorge’s collapse. He thought of William’s grim face, and a cold light flashed through his eyes.
Did His Highness think destroying the gorge would end everything? How naive.
He turned his head and whispered to the adjutant behind him, “Have the legion accelerate the nurturing of the ‘seeds.’ Eden’s magical spring veins are more active than I expected. They will serve perfectly as nourishment.”
The adjutant nodded and withdrew. Marcus looked at the princess again, his tone carrying unquestionable certainty.
“Rest easy and become my princess consort. Soon, the entire continent will remember Eden’s name—in an entirely new way.”
The castle bell rang twelve times. Moonlight spilled over the side of Marcus’s face, half of it bright and half of it dark.
The old king was still dreaming of using another’s blade to kill his enemies and stabilize his royal authority. Yet he had failed to see that the one he had invited in was no son-in-law at all.
He was clearly a wolf dressed in formal robes, staring at the entire continent as he sharpened his claws and fangs.