Kyle closed the communication crystal and walked out of the room. Ohan and Eon noticed his worried expression and asked what had happened.
Kyle shook his head with a faint smile and explained that he had to leave for Kingdom tersia because of some urgent matters.
"I'm sorry, I just came back, but I have to leave again. But I promise, next time I'll stay for a whole month."
Baron Ohan shook his head.
"It's fine. You're old enough to take care of yourself. Just don't forget about your old man and come visit sometime. Also, if you come across your brothers, scold them for me. They ran off without my permission. I know they want to help others, but they should inform me first."
Kyle nodded with a mischievous glint. Of course, he was more than happy to help his father teach his brothers a little lesson. Bia sighed and went to hug the old man too.
-"I'll miss the food. Don't worry, even if he doesn't come back, I'll be here."
Kyle rolled his eyes and grabbed the overdramatic phoenix. He waved at his father and butler Eon one last time before the duo left and started floating in the sky.
Bia's wings fluttered gently in the air. Kyle raised his finger and drew a few symbols. Suddenly, a round flickering portal appeared in the air.
He glanced at his house one last time. For some reason, a bad feeling was nagging at him, but he couldn't explain it.
"I'll be back soon."
He stepped into the portal, and Bia followed closely behind.
...
In a grand hall, King Foraan stood beside King Cedric, who had a serious expression. He looked at the kids in front of him and let out a sigh before glancing at Anlee, who just arrived with a request for help.
Cedric took one last look at Carcel and waved his hand at the youngsters.
"Just go. The entire East Continent is in danger. It doesn't matter who falls first, because once the first kingdom falls, the others won't last long either. Right now, Retric and Prince Casper are taking care of the Kingdom Escalante borders. I'll be joining them soon. So, all of you should go and help take care of the dark mage."
He paused, his expression turning serious.
"Make sure he regrets his actions."
Alec raised his weapon, and the others followed suit.
On the other side, Elder Han and another array master finished setting up the teleportation array. They called the kids to stand on it, and Anlee stood in front of them, humming. He nodded at the two kings, grateful for their acceptance of the sudden request.
In the next moment, they all vanished from the hall. Cedric tapped Foraan's shoulder.
"I just noticed, Jian has become much stronger, and so has your son, Kelvin."
Foraan chuckled and shook his head.
"I'm leaving now. Since my son has decided to follow his friends, someone needs to go back and take care of the Kingdom. I just received news that a few nobles are causing trouble."
He left instantly, and Elder Han talked with Cedric about Kyle.
"Anlee has already spoken with him. He will go directly to the elven Kingdom."
After Han left for the nearest border, Cedric turned around to make his way toward his study, but suddenly, a faint tremble in his storage ring made him frown.
He glanced at the old white jewel in his storage ring. It was trembling for some reason.
"What happened?"
Cedric paused when he sensed another presence behind him and turned to look.
"Aefel WintCrest, what brings you here? If you're looking for your daughter, she left with the other kids."
Aefel's feet touched the carpeted floor, and his amber eyes shone in the dim light as he gazed at the King's storage ring.
"I know Yue isn't here. I'm not here for her. I want something from you. We can discuss it."
Cedric's brow knitted together, and the jewel in his ring became more agitated with each passing second. He wasn't sure what it was, as he had found it in an old treasury.
He folded his hands behind his back and narrowed his eyes.
"Let's talk. If you can offer something valuable in return, I'm open to making a trade."
Aefel smiled, and as Cedric took out the jewel, it instantly leaped toward the two porcelain bracelets in Aefel's hand. With a click, the white jewel merged with the bracelets. They trembled slightly, and Aefel let out a thoughtful sound.
'One more part and this artifact will be complete. I hope it's something useful, or else all the effort I put into collecting the parts would be in vain.'
He sighed and placed the bracelets in his storage ring. If Kyle were here, he would have recognized the bracelets. After all, he was the one who completed the symbols on one of the bracelets.
...
Alec opened his eyes above a barren land and glanced at the others standing around him.
Suddenly, two familiar figures appeared in front of them. Professor Aliza and Professor Liam greeted them with tired smiles. Their clothes were wrinkled, and their weapons were stained with blood.
They were among the first to arrive here after receiving an order from Principal Retric to help.
However, before they could even greet their old students and the unfamiliar kids, Anlee impatiently led them toward the border.
Aliza's brow furrowed as she looked at Lily. She knew Lily had taken Kyle's place and entered the realm. Now, the little girl had grown into a beautiful lady.
'Will she be alright? After all, the dark mage is her father.'
After a few minutes, the kids arrived at a village that housed a large border, stretching in a straight line before the dark forest.
They all took in shuddering breaths as they saw the village completely destroyed. The land was stained with blood, and low-rank monsters roamed around. The air echoed with the sounds of metal as countless elves in silver armor fought to kill as many monsters as possible.
Anlee instantly disappeared to help someone nearby. Alec closed his eyes for a second and pulled out his weapon to take down the monsters around him. The people around him joined the fight too. Together, they defeated all the nearby monsters and hurriedly followed Liam and Aliza.
Within a minute, they reached the border, but it was already beyond saving. Half of it had collapsed, and more monsters kept pouring out from the dark forest every second. A large number of elves tried to stop them, and even though they managed to hold their ground, the number of monsters was just too much to handle.
Amidst everything, the air around the border felt a bit cold for some reason.
Alec glanced at Carcel, and with a nod, they floated up to lend a hand to as many people as possible. Alec's eyes glowed with a faint white light as he unleashed attack after attack on the monsters. After spending so much time in the realm, his swordsmanship became more graceful and precise. Carcel floated behind him, spinning his spear to take down just as many monsters.
On their left, Regius, Kelvin, Sia, Lily, Sinon, and the others started their rampage.
Jian, Lara, Mia, and Yue stood at the back with the mages in a line, raining down countless spells on the monsters.
After their arrival, the elves fighting in front of the border breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, reinforcements were here. Many lives had been lost, but as long as the situation didn't worsen, they could save a lot of lives.
Nonetheless, it was strange. The elves didn't seem too surprised by the kids' over-the-top performance. Their expressions were kind of numb like they had seen something even more mind-blowing before.
As the youngsters quickly took their positions and began fighting, the number of monsters thinned with each passing minute.
Yue raised her hand, and countless glowing arrows appeared behind her. The arrows shot out with lightning-fast speed, killing many monsters.
"Where is the dark mage?"
Her question was interrupted when, in a faraway place amidst the towering trees, a huge blast took place. Jian narrowed his eyes.
"I can't see what's going on. It's too far away."
Lara tapped his shoulder.
"Let me."
Her eyes glowed faintly, and in the next second, a familiar tall figure with silver hair appeared in her vision. Far from the border, the man was almost crushing his opponent with the fire phoenix flying around him.
Lara glanced at Jian, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"It seems someone else arrived before us."
Jian and Yue both stared at her, confused. Mia, Alec, Carcel, and the others who heard her words were also perplexed, but then a woman with long hair appeared beside Yue.
Aira, one the strongest guardians of the elven Kingdom, rubbed her bandaged chest and a faint smile appeared on her usually cold face.
"The kid has indeed gotten stronger. Me and the people beneath you wouldn't have survived if he had come just a little later."
Another figure appeared beside her. Anlee wiped the blood stains from his shirt and raised his brow, surprised.
"He arrived even before me?"
Yue's eyes widened slightly.
"Is it Kyle?"
Jian burst into laughter.
"If it's him, then I don't think we need to worry about the dark mage. I can only hope that the dark mage ends up as an intact corpse!"
Suddenly, he pulled out a large boulder from his storage ring and tossed it in the distance towards a huge, round monster that had arrogantly walked out from the forest.
The monster cried out as the weight descended on its head. Alec blinked, shocked.
'Why does this look so familiar!?'
Many pairs of eyes instantly turned toward Jian, and he let out a shy smile.
"What? I learned it from Kyle!"
