Chapter 345: Silent Period and the Fallout from the Heroic Spirit’s Defeat

Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Silent Period and the Fallout from the Heroic Spirit’s Defeat

White River City, the Violet Medical Sanctuary.

This was the most prestigious hospital in the entire Province, exclusively for Professionals.

Every floor tile here was engraved with a Microscopic Dust Removal Technique.

Inside a sickroom on the top floor.

An array of complex Life-Sustaining Alchemical Creations hummed steadily.

"I spent three whole years and used thirteen ounces of Star Shards Gel just to barely keep that tattered Star Track of yours at a critical point where it wouldn’t collapse at any moment!"

Gideon stood by the hospital bed, his deep purple Mage Robe trembling with his movements.

He was roaring at the old man on the bed, his voice filled with exasperated frustration.

Necros, lying on the bed, looked absolutely miserable.

Dozens of thin Bronze Tubes were inserted into his chest, abdomen, and even his wrists.

The tubes connected to a large Crystal Container at the head of the bed, slowly and continuously injecting High Tier Recovery Potions of various colors into his body.

"And look at you now! The residual Gel has flowed back into your Star Track’s nodes and completely solidified! You’ll never be able to channel even a shred of Extraordinary Power for the rest of your life!"

Gideon grew angrier as he spoke. Even though he was a Caster with various Spirit Resistance Specializations, he just couldn’t control his fury when it came to his old friend.

He actually knew full well that if Necros hadn’t gone to stop the Demon Tide in the forest that night, the evacuees from Gray Rock Town never would have held out for reinforcements.

He was furious that his friend didn’t take care of himself, but he also admired his sacrifice.

"Alright, stop shouting. At least I made it out alive, didn’t I?"

Necros leaned back on the soft cushions.

With his right hand, the only one he could move freely, he fiddled with a rust-stained badge.

He had taken it from his office desk drawer when he evacuated Gray Rock Town. He had made up his mind and decided to give it to Lance.

"I’ve lived to this age. Being able to use these old bones to save people one last time... it was worth it."

A carefree smile graced the old man’s face. Power was often tied to responsibility, and now that his was gone, he felt a weight off his shoulders.

"When can I get out of bed? Having all these tubes stuck in me... I feel like a pincushion. It’s awful."

He changed the subject.

"You need to lie here for at least two more days for observation!"

Gideon shot him an annoyed glare. He began adjusting the infusion rates of the various Alchemy Potions, hoping to make his old friend a little more comfortable.

"Well, if I’m going to be stuck here for two more days, you’ve got to tell me what major events have happened outside, right?"

Necros asked.

Ever since he had collapsed from exhaustion on the forest defensive line, he had been completely out of it.

He only vaguely knew that the Adventurers who had been trapped in the Underground City later came out and saved the town’s residents. As for what happened after that, he had no idea.

After adjusting the Alchemy Potions, Gideon pulled a chair over and sat down by the bed.

"There have been several major events affecting the entire Kingdom."

Gideon sighed and began to tell his old friend about the current situation.

"First, about the Summer Crown. This time, none of the Summer Crowns in White River Province can be redeemed for rewards. It’s as if everyone’s efforts were all for nothing."

"Also, after this incident, all the Underground Cities in the country have, without any warning, collectively entered a ’Silencing Period’."

"A ’Silencing Period’?" Necros frowned. ’That’s extremely rare in history.’

"Yes. During a Silencing Period, the Demon spawn rate and resource output of the Underground Cities plummet. Consequently, the danger of exploring them also drops drastically. Many Underground Cities that were on the verge of rampaging have now become eerily stable."

Gideon continued, "But the worst part is that a dozen Underground Cities, led by the one near your Gray Rock Town and others close to the Province border, went into a full-blown rampage a few days ago."

"Tens of thousands of Demons poured out onto the surface. According to preliminary statistics, as many as eighteen surrounding towns were affected, and almost all of them were razed to the ground."

"Fortunately, however, the rampage only lasted for about a day before those Underground Cities were also forced into the Silencing Period. Otherwise, if the Demon Tide had been allowed to spread, the losses from this disaster would have been immeasurable."

"But even so, this is already the largest Demon disaster to occur in White River Province in over twenty years."

After hearing this report, Necros was silent for a moment.

"That’s about the best possible outcome," the old man sighed.

"We personally experienced the East Coast Underground City rampage event over twenty years ago. Now *that* was a true catastrophe. The entire southern part of the Province was practically turned into a wasteland, and the number of Ordinary people and Adventurers who died was in the hundreds of thousands."

Necros stared at the glowing crystals on the ceiling, recalling that time.

If the Royal Capital hadn’t allocated enormous funds, and if the major merchant guilds hadn’t poured money into reconstruction, the East Coast Province never would have recovered so quickly.

Gideon nodded, then steered the conversation back to the current incident.

In Gideon’s eyes, each of his old teammates possessed an intellect on par with his own. They had long been accustomed to inspiring each other’s lines of thought.

"What do you think the Faceless Hermitage Association was really trying to do this time?"

"My guess is that by making such a huge scene, even going so far as to summon an Evil God, they were most likely targeting the God of Rebellion, ’Chaos’."

"After all, this year’s Summer Crown was presided over by Chaos. And Faros shares an extremely high similarity with Chaos in terms of their Authority. This might have been a long-planned struggle for divine authority."

Such things were not unheard of in history.

There were even cases of two Kingdoms perishing in the midst of a struggle for divine authority.

The contention for a god’s Authority had always been like this.

But Necros just shook his head.

Before he came to the border to serve as a branch head, he had spent a long time moving within the Royal Capital’s inner circle of power. He had seen far too many complex political schemes.

His perspective on matters was far more realistic than Gideon’s.

"I don’t think so."

Necros toyed with the badge in his hand.

"What if... all of this was the result of those Dragon Descendant Dukes making some kind of secret deal with the Faceless Hermitage Association?"

"Why?" Gideon was taken aback. ’That’s a wildly bold speculation.’

"Because of the Dungeon Guard Special Charter Bill."

Necros pointed out the crux of the issue.

"For years, in order to suppress those top-tier Underground Cities, those Dukes have poured all their cultivated forces into the defensive lines. This has led to their political influence in the Royal Capital being steadily weakened."

"But now, with the Underground Cities in a full Silencing Period, the Demons are no longer rampaging, and the pressure on the defensive lines has plummeted."

"Which means..."

At this point, Necros closed his mouth, not saying any more.

But Gideon already understood perfectly what his old friend was implying.

Once those Dragon Descendant Dukes had their hands free, the political landscape of the entire Iris Kingdom would inevitably face a major reshuffling.

Moreover, he had heard that the Blue Dragon Duke of the East Coast had always wanted to arrange a marriage between his son and the Eldest Princess of the Red Dragon Royal Family, but the Red Dragon Royal Family had always refused.

Then again, the people from the Blue Dragon’s Dragon Descendant Race were all a bit strange. The Duke’s son was apparently a weak-willed person, and there were also faint rumors that his daughter had a peculiar hobby: she enjoyed abusing female Sub-human Species.

But with a Sacred Covenant in place, such things couldn’t be done openly. It was all just hearsay, anyway.

"Enough, let’s not talk about this."

Gideon waved his hand, unwilling to delve deeper into the topic.

He himself came from a fallen noble family. If he hadn’t been implicated and persecuted by a certain Dragon Duke Clan back then, he never would have ended up on the streets, eventually joining that rag-tag Adventurer party where he met Necros.

He detested the Dragon Descendant nobility from the bottom of his heart.

"You’ve already got one foot in the grave. It’s not your place to worry about these national affairs."

"So, is there any other news worth mentioning?"

Necros took the cue and changed the subject.

Hearing this question, Gideon suddenly paused, a hesitant look on his face.

Because everything that happened next would inevitably revolve around one person’s name.

"You were fighting on the front lines all night, so you probably didn’t see the ’Display of Royal Authority’ in the sky, did you?"

Necros rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Of course not! I had to focus every second on keeping my Star Track from shattering. How could I dare get distracted by looking at the sky?"

"Did some incredible young person appear in that vision?"

"Yes."

Gideon nodded.

"A young man, under everyone’s gaze, killed the Heroic Spirit Species that had descended upon the Underground City head-on."

"What?!"

As soon as the words were out, Necros’s hand, which had been adjusting the cushions, trembled.

"Has anyone in the Kingdom’s history ever accomplished such a thing?"

The old man was utterly shocked.

He had lived for most of his life and had never heard of anything like it.

Unless it was one of the Legendary Powerhouses, or one of those experts standing at the very peak of the Extraordinary Ladder.

Otherwise, when an Ordinary Adventurer faced a Heroic Spirit, the only outcome was to be completely crushed.

The lower the Tier of the Professional, the smaller their chances of winning against a Heroic Spirit.

It would be like a novice who had just set foot on the Ascension Ladder trying to face an expert with immense combat experience and a full loadout of powerful Specialties!

’The last time I heard of a feat like this was a few years ago, when some monster of a kid hunted down a juvenile Giant Dragon while at the same Level, right?’

The name of that young man who killed the young dragon was apparently inscribed in the annals of the Holy Relics Compilation Institute!

He broke the record for the youngest Dragon Slayer.

’I think he even earned the title of Pole Star this year.’

"And,"

Gideon added, "the identity of that Heroic Spirit has since been confirmed by the survivors who escaped the Underground City."

"It was the Bronze Dragon, ’Galeos’."