Badge in Azure

The passing of time was something that all living creatures had to face. Eleanor’s life arrow, which was able to reduce one’s lifespan, was basically time technique as well.

There was nothing Saleen could do about the fact that time passed at a different rate in the Imperial City the of Abyss compared to the outside world.

The vermillion knights reached the divine tree magic tower very quickly. All of them stopped and waited for orders from their leader.

The leader raised his head and looked at the magic tower. By nature, vermillion knights detested anything related to Gods. He was a soldier that had pledged his loyalty to humans and he had joined the army at a time when humans were trying to conquer Gods. Gods would always be the enemy.

Saleen saw that the vermillion knight’s eyes were purple. They were formed by fire elements coming together. Purple flames were rarely seen and were of rather high temperature. They were very stable and displayed no signs of aggression commonly associated with the fire element.

The leader was also an elemental creature that possessed a soul.

“Human in the magic tower, are you the one who has subdued the soldiers that were nearby?” What the vermillion knight asked took Saleen by surprise. The knight’s soul had already matured, so it would be more difficult dealing with him compared to the elemental stone statue soldiers and the blue ice maidens.

“Yes. Vinny and Gloria are now my soldiers.” Saleen used the sound transmission magic array in the magic tower. There was no way the vermillion knight would possess the same technique as the Angel of Fear anyway.

“I came over to take a look because I sensed the presence of the pests. Although there are no longer any humans here, the pests should not be allowed to roam around. I… want to know, did you kill all the pests yourself?” The vermillion knight puffed out his chest and his long halberd was lowered. Even his towering physique seemed miniature when standing in front of the magic tower.

“Yes. I have killed two Angels of Fear as well.” Saleen caressed the clan badge in his hand. When the badge was extracted from the Angel of Fear’s body, some of her strange internal organs were shriveled. Who knew what the badge actually absorbed? In any case, Saleen could sense that the power within the badge was ready to be unleashed again.

Saleen felt very calm with the badge in his hands. No one had heard of any equipment on the Myers Mainland that was capable of killing a grade-12 creature instantaneously.

“I don’t believe you, unless you come out and defeat me.” The vermillion knight pointed his long halberd at the top level of the magic tower, that Saleen was in.

“I am a mage. Of course, I must choose to fight in the magic tower. You are an elemental creature. It is no use plotting against me. If you don’t believe me, you can take a look at the crystal tower. There is a hole on the third level which was caused by my equipment. Or else, you can head out to 20 miles away. I killed an Angel of Fear there, but of course, there is nothing much left of him for you to see.”

The vermillion knight was speechless. Of course, he did not proceed to check on the places that Saleen mentioned. Instead, he continued, “I can become a soldier for a human, but the human must be stronger than me.”

“So, equipment cannot be included?”

“No. You are only powerful if you don’t rely on equipment.”

“Then, do you think the Angel of Fear is powerful?”

“Yes. I am no match for the Angel of Fear.”

“I have killed both of them. I am using one of their skins to refine an equipment. If your idea of being ‘powerful’ is to eventually end up as an equipment for others, then I don’t need you at all. Based on your speed, there is no way you can escape a single hit from my most powerful equipment. You either submit to me, or I will kill you.”

“You have the heart of a powerful person, but I find it hard to believe that your equipment is still able to carry out attacks.” With that, the vermillion knight pointed his long halberd at the ground.

“The only way to prove it is for me to kill you, but I really need you.”

“It is not that I am unwilling to submit to you, but this equipment of yours is from the Gods and they are our enemies.” Of course, the vermillion knight was not willing to risk being attacked by the same equipment that wiped out the Angels of Fear. The human claimed to have killed an Angel of Fear from 20 miles away. There was no way the vermillion knight would be able to escape such an attack, based on their speed.

“This is a problem. My name is Saleen Metatrin. I am a small king. May I know what your name is?” Saleen could see that the vermillion knight was more intelligent than Gloria and tried to engage in a conversation with him. Saleen could not bear using the badge to kill him because he did not want to waste a single attack of the badge.

“I am Flare. I don’t have a surname.”

“Alright, Flare. Now, I have two elemental badges, one is ground element and the other is water element. In this environment, your powers are suppressed. Even if I don’t use powerful equipment, you are still no match for me. Although this magic tower’s history is connected to Gods, there are no longer any more Gods on the Myers Mainland.”

“There are no more Gods?”

“Yes. Only the Lord of Glory is trying to recruit disciples and spread his faith, but none of his clones have been able to descend.”

“Why do you want me to submit to you?” The vermillion knight suddenly asked a strange question.

Saleen thought for a while and said, “The powers on the Myers Mainland, which may be known as the main dimension to you, have fallen quite a number of grades over the years. An elemental creature of your grade is already the most powerful on the Mainland. If you are willing to help me, I will be able to destroy the Lord of Glory’s religion on the Mainland. This is very important to me.”

“You are a disciple?”

“No, I don’t believe in any Gods.”

“Alright. I will head out 20 miles to verify what you have claimed. If it is true, I am willing to follow you and become your warrior.” Flare turned around and was about to leave.

“No need. You can take a look from here.” With that, Saleen showed a magic image as he began to hit on the War Drum of Fear in the magic tower.

The vermillion knight could see a human mage hitting a war drum with a bone mace. There was a frightening-looking face on the war drum.

Dong… dong dong…

As Saleen slowly hit on the War Drum of Fear, the vermillion knight’s body trembled. It shook for a while before he steadied himself. Saleen sighed. That was something that he had broken down himself. There were still tens of thousands of pests in there. The linked soul of the Angel of Fear was simply too weak, so it was already quite incredible that it could affect a grade-10 creature.

“What is that?!” The vermillion knight turned back and realized that none of his knights were affected. The grade-9 vermillion knights continued sitting on their flaming warhorses, with cool expressions on their faces.

“This is a War Drum of Fear made from the skin that I have peeled off the Angel of Fear. It possesses powerful attacking abilities against creatures that possessed souls,” Saleen shared.

“So, this was what you used to subdue the pests!” The vermillion knight was sharper than Gloria as he was able to connect the dots immediately. He could not take it lying down that he did not manage to see Saleen’s powers. He was an elemental creature with a soul and was unlike the grade-9 vermillion knights that did not possess a strong sense of self-awareness.

“Don’t feel that way. I still have the Angel of Fear’s soul with me. You possess a soul too. Do you understand what I am saying?”

It was clear what Saleen was trying to say. He possessed two elemental badges, so trapping Flare would not be a problem. After capturing Flare, he would be able to control his soul. By then, Flare’s status would drop significantly because he did not submit to Saleen voluntarily.

Saleen was very keen to subdue an intelligent elemental creature like that. The vermillion knight would definitely know more than Gloria, especially about the Imperial City of the Abyss and how quickly time passed there.

“You should not threaten me like that.” The vermillion knight was unhappy after hearing what Saleen said.

“I don’t have time.”

“Time?”

“Yes, the time here passes at a different rate compared to the outside world. I don’t know which side is faster. The magic equipment I have that is supposed to help me tell time is also spoiled. I cannot take the risk and stay here for too long. There are too many things out there that I need to settle.”

“Hehe, the passing of time in the Imperial City of the Abyss is not fixed, but compared to the outside world, some places here could be 10 times slower. Otherwise, there is no way elemental creatures like us could survive. Our lifespans are limited too.”

“How do I know if I can trust you?”

“This is only the exterior of the Imperial City of the Abyss. You can go outside and take a look.”

“There is nothing outside that I can take reference from.”

Saleen’s reply left the Flare stumped. Saleen was right. His magic equipment for telling time had spoiled. He would have no idea what day it was even if he went out.

“I really have no time. Flare, make your decision now.” Saleen was no longer interested in dragging on the conversation. He summoned Vinny and Gloria, who led their troops out of the divine tree magic tower.

“Wait!” The vermillion knight shouted.

“Speak!” Saleen’s tone was cold. He would not be able to tell if the vermillion knight was speaking the truth, unless he inserted a shard of Eternal Control into his soul.

“I want to see what unique techniques you have invented on your own. If it impresses me, I will submit to you. If your technique is mediocre and ordinary, I’d rather die than to follow a piece of trash. No matter how powerful your equipment may be, you will never truly become strong!”

“Alright!” Saleen threw a shard of Eternal Control out of the magic tower, which Flare caught. The shard of Eternal Control was still cold in his hands, seemingly unaffected by his grade-10 flame.

“If my technique impresses you, then insert this shard of Eternal Control into your head on your own. If you feel that I don’t deserve to become your Master, then I will kill you and respect your decision by not torturing your soul.”

“So be it. Let me see what impressive techniques a little mage like you can have,” the vermillion knight answered fearlessly. Although he would fear death once he possessed a soul, he was not willing to be scared off by a mage. Clearly, the mage was not as powerful as he was. If not for the fact that Saleen had killed the Angels of Fear, Flare would not have bothered to talk to him in the first place.