Chapter 821: Heroic Spirits

"Interesting..."

Rhode squinted his eyes. He had to admit that the Light Parliament's concerns were somewhat reasonable. If it were him, he would have used this excuse to dominate that territory because no matter what, he was better off controlling his fate than leaving it in the hands of idiots. Moreover, the idiots were always thinking about 'backstabbing' all day. However, it didn't seem like a great idea to occupy the Winter Castle too because the battlefront in the Munn Kingdom would be extended. This was only a skirmish. The Country of Darkness was honing their strength for the final push. When that happened, would the Munn Kingdom be able to resist their true enemies?

Of course, Rhode wasn't as anxious as before. With the ability to mass produce the Holy Maiden Statues, there shouldn't be too many problems. On the contrary, he was more worried about those idiots in the battlefront... He shifted his gaze to the southern region of the Munn Kingdom on the Dragon Soul Continent map on the wall—the area that was shrouded in Chaos and fog. Then, he shook his head.

Gaya had already headed into Golden City. Judging from her loyalty to Lydia, she would definitely hand the Projection Crystal over as soon as they met and Lydia would surely appreciate its value. If Lydia wished to make up for the negligence in the defensive line, she should have chosen to make the Battle Angels defend the Winter Castle completely before handing the crystal to the Country of Law. Of course, Rhode thought that it would be better if Lydia and the Light Parliament signed some sort of written agreement for the garrison authority because even if the Light Parliament wanted to back out of the promise, it would be too late for them. But who could have predicted it?

After all, Lydia wasn't a human, but an angel. What if she saw this matter as more essential than 'lawfully' expanding her territory and strengthening her defense? Perhaps she might still deliver the Projection Crystal to the Country of Law immediately. If that happened, the Country of Law would officially summon the Country of Darkness through the church and the battles would cease. The discussions between Lydia and Lilian about the Munn Kingdom sending reinforcements to the Winter Castle would also be unnecessary.

But... Rhode instinctively knew that Lydia wouldn't let Lilian's effort go to waste.

However, no matter what decision Lydia made, the Munn Kingdom would regain its peace and harmony in the near future. Albeit, it would be the final calm before the storm.

And this was Rhode's only chance.

Rhode walked up to the enormous map, extended his right hand and pressed on the area enveloped by Chaos. That place was once his most precious and important residence. Right in that place was where he established the absolute dominance of Starlight. Even though the Land of Atonement was also great, this wasn't a long-lasting territory due to its fragility, after all. As long as he could acquire the other territory, he could turn it into his main territory and coordinate with Grenbell to create a territory with mighty defense. When that happened, not only could he assist the Munn Kingdom in the battlefront, but he could also... wait to backstab the enemies in the rear.

It seems like it's about time for my preparations.

Rhode shook his head and the system interface emerged before his eyes. There was an eye-catching blue mark.

After completing the mission, Rhode's group returned to the Land of Atonement using the teleportation door. As for the problems regarding the Falcon Peak, Gaya handed the responsibility over to the Elder Regime. On the other hand, Sovann had been feeling rather down as though he heard some bad news during the inheritance ritual. All in all, he didn't mention the Battle Mage Group returning to the Falcon Peak ever since he came back to his senses. After the group returned, Rhode told Mini Bubble Gum and Canary about what happened with Christie and displayed her godly attributes to them. After the two young ladies took a look at the attributes, they were full of envy and volunteered to become her teacher to help her operate the legendary artifact. According to Mini Bubble Gum, it would be a waste to not use this legendary artifact at all! Greed and wastage were the biggest crimes!

Rhode knew that the reason why Canary and Mini Bubble Gum were this excited wasn't purely due to seeing this legendary artifact. It was the techniques this legendary artifact could display piqued their attention. If everything went well, perhaps Christie could use this legendary artifact and break the system restraints on them, so they could roam wildly on this continent.

But... this wasn't possible in a short period.

Apart from this matter, Rhode had succeeded in equipping the Astral Key. However, what surprised him was that the Astral Temple was entirely different from the Silver Ocean and Fiery Plains. Even though the entrance leading to the Astral Temple had been opened, he would need to have a projection of the Astral Temple in this world in order to use it. Not only that...

"This is too illogical..."

Rhode sulked as he gazed at the material and gold coin requirements for the Astral Temple projection. Building the Astral Temple projection required 15 million gold coins, 10 carts of magic crystals, and three spirit prisms!

I worked so hard for this mission reward and this is how it treats me?

Fortunately, he had quite a sum of money after selling the Holy Maiden Statues, so there weren't any problems coming up with the 15 million gold coins and magic crystals. On the other hand, the spirit prisms were much more troublesome. They were valued like an expensive diamond down in hell. Besides, evil methods were required to retrieve spirit prisms, so ordinary humans couldn't achieve it.

Ordinary humans... Hmm...

"...!"

The chilly night wind blew through the window. Then, Celestina emerged in the study room, raised her head proudly, and extended her arm.

"Alright, Master, here you go. How troublesome. Those lowly maggots in the underground jail have no rights to ask me to extract their spirit! Hmph. Each and every one of them were like filthy pigs. It is their honor to have me extracting their spirit, but those lowly maggots cried and rejected my kind offer! How barbaric! Could it be that there is something more honorable than me bestowing their death?"

"Thanks, Celestina."

Rhode accepted the three crystal-clear spirit prisms. Taking a closer look, one could witness the indistinct, twisted, and desperate faces of the spirits within.

"Is this good enough, Master?" Celestina asked curiously. She already knew the purpose of the spirit prisms. However, as a summoned spirit, this was the first time she would be witnessing how Rhode constructed all the buildings.

"I think this should be enough."

Rhode shook his head and lifted his right hand and a line of system prompt emerged before his eyes.

[Construction System Activated—Choose Building—Astral Temple Projection]

[Summoning: Astral Temple (Residence for the heroic spirits wandering in this world)]

[Confirm to build?]

Yes.

Rhode nodded slightly. Almost immediately, the three spirit prisms vanished into thin air. Then, a quick lightning flashed in the pitch-black night sky.

"This is..."

Rhode and Celestina went to the balcony and gazed astonishingly at the sky. The full moon and stars were all concealed by thick, dense clouds. Not only that, but the clouds also revolved with non-stop lightning flashes in the background. Shortly after, countless lightning bolts erupted.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The lightning bolts struck the high cliffs beside the fortress. The mountains shook and even the ground beneath their feet trembled. However, the lightning bolts didn't disappear. Instead, they flickered, connected, and formed an enormous building outline that resembled a palace. Then, the dazzling lightning bolts gradually merged and emanated a blinding white radiance.

"...!"

Rhode turned around subconsciously. After a few moments, the radiance dimmed and he turned back around. Everything had ended.

A towering temple made of flashy blue crystals sat on the peak of the mountain beside the fortress. However, what astonished him was that it looked so close yet so far. He lifted his head and clearly saw the flight of steps leading to the entrance. But, as he looked closely, he realized that it was as though too high to reach like climbing into the clouds.

The entire temple was supported by columns of exquisite sculptures, including sword-wielding swordsmen, cavalrymen, warriors, mages, archers, barbarians, and assassins. Yes... This scene did look somewhat familiar.

"This is amusing..."

Celestina twitched her brows. As Rhode's summoning spirit, she naturally knew the purpose of this Astral Temple. Rhode turned around and looked at the demon young lady with a smiling glint.

"By the way... Celestina, in the Astral Temple, a ritual will be held every few years. Legend has it that it will gather all seven heroic spirits and grant one of your wishes."

"What a boring and foolish legend."

Celestina let out a snort without any interest.

"Alright then, Master. Which army of heroic spirits do you intend to summon?