In another area of Path of Legend, there are active volcanoes, and the lands are flooded with lava rivers. On top of that, the entire place is swarming with deadly fire creatures, making it a no-man's land.
On a small island above the rivers of lava, a few hominid creatures in full-body golden armor were constantly fighting the incoming waves of volcanic creatures as corpses continued to pile up. Yet, these hominid creatures didn't seem to be at any disadvantage at all.
They were like a well-trained and disciplined army as they encircled a golden carriage, protecting it from harm or attacks.
"Where are those slaves? Are they not here yet?" An icy yet melodious voice rang from the carriage with a hint of annoyance.
A tall hominid creature adorned in black armor from head to toe stood guard on the carriage door, holding a long white halberd with black dragon markings on it.
When he heard the icy voice, it respectfully replied, "I've just received updates from the mercenary cortège. They had found the slave, but they encountered these lave beasts. But there is no need to worry, Your Highness; they should be here at any moment."
"Hmph, those lowly slaves can't even handle these little things? Get rid of them once they've arrived. They are unworthy of my Imperial Father's rewards!" The icy voice rang again, filled with brutality.
"As you will, Your Highness!" The black armored being acknowledged without hesitation.
"Head Guard, the cortège has arrived! We can see them!" A golden armored being loudly reported as he thrust his spear, releasing a terrifying golden beam that instantly slaughtered many volcanic beasts.
"I'll receive them! Protect Her Highness!" The head guard in black armor solemnly replied, and the next moment, he vanished without a trace.
The next moment, he appeared a few hundred meters away from the small island, right in front of a group of giants in armor fleeing toward the island. Behind them were thousands of lave creatures like hungry ghosts, and few of them were even quasi-legend rank.
A giant with menacing tattoos instantly spotted the Head Guard floating in the air. His eyes flashed with relief and excitement as he shouted, "Royal Guard! Help us; we have brought the key!"
The head guard didn't move and asked, "Show me!"
The giant and his group were startled, but they knew that if they didn't comply, this arrogant prick wouldn't help them, and they weren't worried that they would be harmed since Zodiac Soul Contracts protected them.
So, the giant quickly takes out the legendary key from the chest plate of his armor and throws it without hesitation towards the head guard, "Here, take it!"
The head guard caught the key, and after confirming that it was not fake, he nodded before saying, "You did good, but alas, you have annoyed the princess…" His voice was filled with pity, but a hint of gloating disdain was evident.
The giant and his group instantly felt something was wrong. Before they could reply, the Head Guard suddenly pulled out a white talisman and activated it.
The next moment, a barrier suddenly materialized and instantly locked a five-hundred-kilometer radius area, trapping the group of giants and thousands of lave creatures within while the Head Guard remained outside this barrier. "You fucker! Don't you fear the Zodiac Soul Contract!" The giant roared with rage.
"Tsk, really a lowly salve." He clicked his tongue, "You can't even tell that I'm not directly harming you at all. I'm just protecting you by using this previous defensive talisman, and those beasts just happened to be in its range when it was active. All you need to do is to get rid of them, and you'll be safe. I wish you luck!"
The head guard innocently explained as two glowing eyes shimmered behind the black helmet with cunningness, and without waiting for the mercenaries' reply, he vanished.
The head guard reappeared in front of the carriage again and respectfully shocked the legendary key, "I've executed Her Highness's order and retrieved the legendary key!"
"Hmph, finally, we can leave this darn place!"
The icy voice muttered as the carriage door opened. A dense dark mist suddenly escaped from within, and a sharp claw emerged from within the mist and grabbed the legendary key!
---
In another place in the Path of Legend, which was actually one of the floating celestial bodies in the sky. It was the ruin of an ancient city crawling with shadowy creatures that crawled in shadows.
At this moment, in the ruin of a castle, a powerful white orb of light illuminated this place, and the shadowy creatures didn't dare step into it. Countless pairs of terrifying eyes stared at the group of people standing under the light, waiting for the light to go off and then tear them apart.
This group of people were dressed like clergymen, with white masks covering their faces. They were gathered around a gorgeous figure of a woman in white bishop robes and silver manteletta. Her head was covered with a silver skull cap. She was holding a white golden monstrance etched with multicolor gems with both hands and seemed to be prying.
"What is taking Archbishop so long?!" A priest cried in terror.
"Calm down. Those vile things are afraid of holy light." The woman in bishop robes impassively stated, "I've just received a divine message, the Archbishop will be here!"
Although she may sound calm, there was a tingle of anxiety mixed in it. But she knew she couldn't show fear here, or things would go south quickly.
'How unlucky! We ended up in this creepy place when we entered the path of legend! And that darn arrogant Archbishop is taking its sweet time! If I had known this place was so dangerous, I would've never left the lesser galaxies. I could've ruled over the Cardinal Spirit Temple for a very long time!
'Yet here I am, surrounded by these vile things and these useless fools. I've been greedy despite achieving this much with my background. Now, my life is in the hands of another…again…' She thought in frustration as she looked at the light orb above her.
A relentless glint flashed past her eyes, 'No, I have the rare growth-type holy magic core and, on top of that, the legendary key of Libra in my hand. Even if that arrogant Archbishop didn't care about my talent, he cared about the key. He had to come here.
'Once he arrives, I'll be safe, and after getting to the middle galaxies, I'll be able to get the promised reward and achieve the legendary rank! I have to endure for the time being and bid my time, like I've been doing all this time!' The dark runes suddenly trembled at this moment, and an ethereal voice rang, "O' Holy Justice God, guide your little sheep and cleanse the darkness…"
The moment the prayer-like chanting rang, a white light suddenly descended in dark runes and started covering every corner. The shadowy creatures suddenly screamed in agony and started to burn, releasing dark smoke and fleeing in all directions.
The clergymen were startled before they cheered in joy. The only calm person was the Bishop, but delight and relief were evident in her eyes as she looked at the illuminated white light.
At this moment, something appeared above the rune: ten white-winged horses with long golden horns in the middle of their heads. They were extremely eye-catching as they glowed in faint golden light, and people were riding them, wearing golden robes.
The person in front of this group was an extremely handsome man in archbishop robes, and his long silver hair fluttered in the wind while he was holding a golden staff as they quickly descended towards the group of clergymen.
When the Bishop saw these people's appearance, especially their silver hair, her heart skipped a beat, and her body trembled in fear. After a very long time, a figure that she could never forget flashed in her mind.
'No! They just look alike!' She quickly calmed down.
At this moment, the silver-haired man looked at the clergymen and sighed in relief before he flashed a gentle smile and amiably said, "Thank the Holy Justice God that you all are fine! Who among you is the previous Pontiff of lesser Libra Galaxy's Cardinal Spirit Temple and newly appointed Bishop Alice?"