The Mountain Envoy stood up and exerted his sorcery, suppressing every movement within the meeting chamber. With a shining scroll in his hand, he borrowed a hint of Mountain Emperor's power to curb the chaos within the surrounding.
"Everyone, it seems that we'll have to put the meeting on hold." As everyone quieted down under the threatening presence of the Decree, the Mountain Envoy spoke as he gestured his hand, creating a string of light that formed into a circular shape, displaying the view from the outside.
Other than the darkness caused by the unknown object blocking the sunlight, many obscure individuals had taken the opportunity to act unrestrained and spread further chaos, hoping to benefit from the misfortune.
The gate of the meeting chamber trembled as many brown-robed sorcerers pushed it open, moving inside to assess the situation as well as informing the Mountain Envoy about the unexpected incident.
"Something unexpected has come up. We require everyone to follow me." The report of chaos and the floating landscape caused the Mountain Envoy to frown. He quickly sent down suppression orders and walked out of the golden palace.
Although the Mountain Emperor was the absolute ruler within the Mountain Union, in the vast Sorcerer World, he was but one of the smaller powerhouses. Many organizations and clans could rival his prestige and even suppressed it.
Watching the Mountain Envoy's receding figure, everyone decided to heed his command and moved along with him. They knew that trouble had arrived, and its impact would influence the calm situation of the Fleeting Emotions Ruin.
As everyone exited the golden palace, the sight of chaotic screams and fighting presented itself. With the collapse of society's laws, many people tried to make use of the situation to gain some benefits. However, most of the penetrators were mortals, as the sorcerers knew about the ruthlessness of the Mountain Union and did not wish to tread on the perilous road.
Nonetheless, as the Mountain Envoy declared his order, the brown-robed sorcerers immediately spread out and killed every criminal they found, making the surrounding of the golden palace the only quiet area of the outpost.
Many shop owners tried to fight back against the intruders, but most of the time, they would get killed or had their daughter seized. If the thieves were sure enough to stomp the store, they mostly had investigated the circumstance and prepared for the worst.
Although little in number, some sorcerers were also battling, trying to put an end to their long-lasting vengeance. They knew that in the time of chaos, laws would not be as strict as before. It would be the best time to settle everything.
In the presence of the brown-robed sorcerers, silence followed their orderly footsteps as they advanced outwards, killing every offender they found. In only a moment, the golden palace retained its tranquil yet bloody atmosphere.
"Let us go to greet our guests then." Looking at the hard work of the guards, the Mountain Envoy felt a sense of accomplishment as he smiled before setting his gaze onto the floating landscape.
"As you command, Lord Envoy." Behind him, the space distorted as Elements gathered into a vortex, forming humanoid figures cloaked in similarly brown robes. However, unlike the regular guards, their clothes shone in a low glow, indicating the superior quality.
Holding the empowered scroll, the Mountain Envoy exerted his power and pushed himself upward, using his sorcery to propel his body in the air and float up. Along with him, the figures of the commanders behind him also used their methods to follow him.
Many grasped in admiration as they watched the brilliant display of sorcery of the Mountain Envoy. Although the flying methods were simple, not many could learn them as their manipulation of Elements was lacking.
Moreover, if they had the necessary ability, their sorcery energy replenishing rate would not be enough. Only the second-ranked sorcerers could continue to float in the air for some time. Even then, their remaining sorcery energy would not be enough to do much.
The second-ranked powerhouses exchanged their communication in their group before making their decision. Most of them decided to follow the Mountain Envoy while others remained on the ground, determining to watch how the situation turned out first.
As if the people of the floating landscape knew about their intention, many figures were moving out from it as they slowly descended onto the land. Their green robe fluttered as the wind caressed its surface, glowing in flowery patterns.
Along with their descent, natural fragrance slowly spread across the entire outpost, covering the smell of blood and ashes in a strangely calming scent. Not long after, leaves and petals followed closely, falling onto the ground and forming a scenery akin to the painting of a master painter.
The mortals who noticed the faint fragrance and the falling petals tried to discern its origin. However, before they could look up into the sky and saw the existence of the supernatural beings, their head suddenly felt heavy and weary as drowsiness assaulted their nerves. In only a mere moment, the chaotic outpost turned silent as all mortals fell into a deep slumber.
The sorcerers also stopped their actions and gathered into groups, not daring to continue their act of plundering and fighting. As long as they did not attract the attention of those floating masters, they were sure that their life would not fade into the nothingness that easily.
None of the sorcerers from Mountain Union tried to prevent any of it. They knew that this fragrance would only be effective against the mortals, and its purpose was to hide their existence from the mortals to minimize the impact of their clash.
In their opinion, the worldview of mortals was delicate and would crumble with the slightest touch. Instead of letting know the existence of sorcery, they would be better off leading an ignorant yet peaceful life. Only the ones with potential and talents had the right to peer into their brutal world.
As the green-robed sorcerers came to a halt in front of the representative of Mountain Union, one figure stepped forward and gazed at the scroll held by the Mountain Envoy, trying to feel the extent of the hidden power within it.
The Mountain Envoy frowned as he sensed the aura of serenity and tranquil around the man, knowing that he had met another powerhouse at a similar level of mastery like him.
"Bringing in the Garden of Placidity, aren't you violating the agreement signed by the Emperors?" With the Imperial Decree in his hand, the Mountain Envoy was confident in its ability to let him suppress the opponent at the same mastery.
The Garden of Placidity, one of the high-quality treasures, was the main base of Flying Green Garden. Although the Flying Green Garden was not one of the top powerhouses of the continent, it had the backing of one, making their overall power stronger than the Mountain Union.
"The Envoy of the Mountain, we didn't come here to start a war, but to join the competition for the treasure." The man's voice was hoarse and dried, like the sound emitted when a nail grazed the surface of the rotten wood.
Although the Mountain Union had already expected the arrival of the surrounding force, they did not anticipate that Flying Green Garden would bring their Garden of Placidity with them and rushed toward the ruin.
Because of the density of the Element in the sorcery wave released from the Fleeting Emotions Ruin, only a monster at the third-ranked sorcery or a priceless treasure could accomplish such feat, which made most of the powerhouses hesitated to jump in first.
"The treasure appeared within our Mountain Union, meaning that it logically would be in our possession!" One of the commanders behind the Mountain Envoy spoke up. He was the youngest of them all and was still hot-blooded and reckless.
"The origin of the treasure came from the ruin, and the origin of the ruin did not belong to your Mountain Union, or are you saying that your Emperor owned Fleeting Emotions Ruin?" The leader of the group did not bother trying to argue with him and stated his reasoning.
The commander fell silent after hearing such a statement. No one within the Sorcerer World knew the origin of the various ruins that scattered around the continent. Maybe the top powerhouses knew about them, but the people at their level did not have the requirement to view it.
"On behalf of the Mountain Emperor, We have declared this ruin as the forbidden zone. If you didn't wish to start a conflict, then the Garden of Placidity shouldn't be here." As the Mountain Envoy spoke, the scroll in his hand slowly unfolded and released a blinding light, piercing the darkness that enveloped the outpost below.
The air around the two dropped started turning hostile and chaotic, twisting the natural flow of Elements into strange shapes. None of the two was willing to compromise. They did not wish to pass a chance of gaining excellent treasure.
However, despite the atmosphere that was on the verge of explosion, no one was going to make a drastic move yet. Although Mountain Union had the home ground advantage, they feared the power behind Flying Green Garden while Flying Green Garden could not defeat Mountain Union without suffering a pyrrhic victory.
As the situation fell into a deadlock, Forus felt that something was pulsating inside of his body, twitching as if someone was trying to recall it back. The itchy sensation bombarded his nerves, especially around his hollow eyesockets.
"Forus, what's wrong?" Ocelia, who noticed his condition, asked him out of her concern. Although the trio was on the ground, if the fight between Mountain Union and Flying Green Garden started, there was no way of making sure that they would escape unscathed.
At the same moment, one of the members of Flying Green Garden stepped forth and whispered to their leader before gazing towards the ground below and revealed a bright smile.
"Lord Envoy, it seems that your people did not care about us very much." Gaining a piece of new information, the leader did not waste any time and spoke out again. If they did not dare to go all-out in the battle, then they would play by the rules of the agreement of the Emperors.
The Mountain Envoy frowned as he gazed at his followers. Most of them did not know anything and kept their face straight, only a few of the second-ranked sorcerers from Flamedouse City realised something, including Levota and Corulem.
"In Flamedouse City, one of our disciples almost lost her life to one of your people, and despite our request, your response was to drive one of our Elders away." The stalemate threatened to crumble as the aggressive aura from the Flying Green Garden's group of Elders magnified.
Although the Mountain Envoy could calm the anger from Ninguis Family, he was incapable of suppressing the complaint from Flying Green Garden. The excuse of power and authority abuse paled in comparison to the damage to their reputation.
With a simple sorcery spell, the speech said by the leader of Flying Green Garden bypassed the distance between the ground and the sky, echoing throughout the outpost. Everyone below the group could feel their fear and panic rising, regularly looking around to see if they stood too close to the culprit.
Hearing the declaration, Forus sighed as he looked over to Ocelia before he smiled to her, placing his hand on her head. Without any hesitation, he placed his lips upon her forehead before pushing her towards Abicel, letting the young maiden took care of the rest.
Little by little, the semi-transparent root-like tentacles began to crawl out from his empty eye sockets. Although the spiritual seed had already crumbled into dust, some lingering roots remained within his body. When coming into contact with the petals and natural fragrance that fell from the Garden of Placidity, they immediately reacted and reached out to their origin.
