“Don’t be too arrogant, Vittorio. We still don’t know what’s on the other side of the Space-Time Gate, but we can imagine that the Moon Goddess Diana wouldn’t be there alone; there must be a reason for her coming here!” Harrov said gravely.
Aurora also nodded, agreeing that where there is a Moon Goddess, there could well be other gods and undoubtedly a promotion system in place.
Vittorio paused for a moment. He understood this reasoning but was reluctant to believe it because if everything that crow had said was true, the world beyond the Space-Time Gate would likely be far more dangerous than they had imagined.
Just dealing with a false god like Ayla, who had their Divine Arts system dissolved, was challenging enough, so how horrific would the Lord of Death, who supposedly had an army of hundreds of millions of undead, be?
“So, are you planning to collaborate with that crow?” Vittorio asked, frowning.
“Certainly not. Just based on its word, accepting its command and control is out of the question!” Lynn shook his head and then spoke again. “That so-called God of Life and Creation might not genuinely wish to help us either, don’t forget what the Star Messenger said about the main world capturing planes…”
According to the black crow, these gods capture planes to transform them into their divine domains.
What a divine domain is, and how it could be transformed, they had no clue yet, but Lynn suspected it might involve converting the entire world into their domain.
If the Lord of Death was planning to do this, might the God of Life and Creation harbor the same intentions?
Perhaps the reward for their compliance would be offering up their faith or even their entire world.
Either way, they could not agree to such terms!
“It seems we must send someone through the Space-Time Gate once again to investigate the situation on the other side,” Harrov said worriedly.
They had thought that sealing the space-time nodes with magic would prevent enemy invasions, but it now seemed to serve only as a warning.
Thus, it was imperative to send someone to explore again, at least to verify whether the crow had been telling the truth or not.
“But, the people we previously sent have all disappeared without a trace, and even you and Chairman Lynn lost contact instantly when your incarnates went through,” Aurora sighed. If it weren’t for Ayla flying directly in, she even suspected this might be a one-way Space-Time Gate from the other side.
“Is it possible that we chose the wrong gate to enter through!” Lynn speculated. “Some gates lead to relatively dangerous areas, while others might lead to calmer ones.”
Vittorio was suddenly enlightened; indeed, that was a possibility. In the past, the exploration had focused on the gates located within Wizard Land, where dangerous and powerful magical beasts often emerged, clearly demonstrating the level of danger.
And the gate through which Lynn and Harrov had sent their incarnates could have been blocked by Ayla’s intervention, but other space-time nodes might not be as perilous, such as the one before them…
If this black crow, with only a quasi-legendary strength, could come in, maybe they could also go through it.
Although they had this thought, none of them rushed into action.
This matter required thorough deliberation; they needed a comprehensive plan and to select the right personnel, or they might fail to gather information and instead end up handing over intelligence about their side…
“What do you think should be done with this crow?” Aurora glanced at the sealed cage in Lynn’s hands.
The creature had brought them quite a bit of key intelligence; logically, it should be treated somewhat favorably.
However, it continuously demanded their ‘submission’ and ‘acceptance of command’, and its origins were still unverified, which, to some extent, made it a significant problem.
“Let me keep an eye on it for now. It talks a lot; let’s see if we can extract more information,” Lynn mused aloud.
Aurora nodded. This crow was connected to a mysterious and powerful god. Killing it was definitely not an option, as it might provoke a formidable enemy. They couldn’t just let it roam free either. Having Lynn take on the trouble was naturally best.
After Vittorio re-enhanced the space-time node with several layers of protection, Lynn and the others waited on the spot for a long time. When the device showed no more activity, they finally headed back to the capital together.
At that moment, the capital was supposed to be filled with grand celebrations for an inauguration ceremony, but due to the sudden absence of several chairmen, it had to be hastily concluded.
However, sensing something was amiss, the members of the council did not leave by train but chose to remain in the city.
Sure enough, upon Harrov’s return, he immediately convened the Wizard Council.
The total of five hundred council members quickly gathered in the hall, and Rafael and others impatiently inquired about the whereabouts of the chairmen.
“There was a mishap with the Space-Time Gate in Steel City Welsel,” Harrov stated succinctly.
“Could it be that the false god is attacking again?” Rafael immediately tensed up, knowing full well from his experience in the Battle of Holy City that Ayla had fled to beyond the gate while being pursued by several chairmen.
“That’s not the case,” Harrov shook his head, but before the crowd could breathe a sigh of relief, he continued, “The news we’ve received might be even worse!”