Hearing his words, Delilah felt confused. Didn't he just pour fire into the portal? How did he conclude so much from that?
Unable to understand how his brain works, she blinked. "Did you confirm this by pouring fire into the portal? If so, how?"
Seeing her big, crimson eyes, Roy thought they were really pretty, but not as pretty as his wife. He didn't mind complimenting her in his mind. She was, after all, his first flame in this life. Although he had gotten married to a gorgeous Female Siren that could topple kingdoms with a glance, it was hard for him to forget how the woman next to him looked when she was pressed beneath him. The kiss he shared with her was also not forgotten.
Such thoughts were too disturbing, and Roy's face reddened. He looked away from Delilah, hoping that she hadn't caught the embarrassment written on his face. With his back to her, he cleared his throat as if wiping away the dirty thought in his mind.
He raised his chin up, a thoughtful look flashing in his deep, dark, enigmatic eyes. It was better for his companions to know what he was capable of, but he couldn't outright tell them about the system. It was related to his reincarnation and transmigration. It was one of his greatest secrets. Keeping it a secret was as important as keeping the fact that he was an otherwordly demon a secret.
"I am connected to my fire. I felt it burning the hexes to ashes after it was poured into the portal." Roy just needed a moment to come up with an answer that would satisfy her curiosity without putting his life in jeopardy.
Delilah appeared to understand his words and lowered her eyes, standing with both hands in her pocket. A fake mage couldn't use elemental magic, but he could. That alone set him apart from the masses. So she wasn't surprised to know that his self-created fire was like an extension of himself, not much different than his limbs and senses. Besides, it was rare for someone to have this ability, but it wasn't unheard of. This world was full of wonders, and Roy being more capable than others wasn't a miracle.
Done with checking the situation inside, Roy pulled back his Sword Force, letting go of the stone. The black murky water retreated into him obediently as the stone, heavier than mountains, fell straight down after losing its support.
Boom! It crashed on the ground heavily, producing a resounding thud and raising a thick, vision-impairing cloud of dust. It was blown away with a wave of his hand, and the surroundings were once again clear as day.
When the mouth of the entrance of the ancestral land was closed, Delilah turned to him with an arched eyebrow, "Was this all you came here for, my lord?"
'Finally adding honorifics? I thought you forgot I am your master.'
Roy really liked to hear the words "my lord" coming out of the ruthless assassin's pretty lips. Perhaps he had developed a liking for it.
"No," Roy spat out in a soft tone, "I came here to confirm two things. The first has been checked. Voss had taken over the Baldwin's ancestral land. It is no longer a safe route to enter the Ashen Land, not like I expected it to be, and it won't be safe in the future unless Voss is taken down."
"The other thing I came here to confirm is the status of the holy barrier," he added after a short pause.
The Ashen Land was surrounded by a transparent barrier. The mist surrounded it from all sides, unable to breach the barrier. What was beyond it was quite clear to the eyes. It was a lifeless sky painted with the color of ashes and a gray sandy desert.
This was just one of the many faces of the Ashen Land, and while it had many terrains, one thing about it was absolute—the sky was always a silver gray color.
"Countless scholars have tried to study it, but they all failed." Delilah said from behind Roy, "Even renowned prodigies couldn't comprehend it. The top scholars of the past two decades have visited this site, hoping to make a breakthrough, but a wall of disappointment slapped them too. They could only lower their heads and go away."
She continued without a break, "It's tested that realm lords can barely create a scratch on it. Only when the five kings banded together were they able to open up a hole in it, and they had to continuously exert their force to keep the hole from closing. That was the only time the Ashen Land was explored officially, but it was a mess as everyone that did the exploration died, either inside or from a curse. Since then, everyone has given up on trying to undersand the barrier and explore the Ashen Land."
"I am really curious how you would succeed in interfering with the barrier."
Roy turned his head to the side, glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, and uttered, "Just wait and watch."
His scrutinizing gaze then landed on the barrier that separated the entire Great Sun Empire from the Ashen Land. It was a wonder of the Lost Age and had existed for several hundred years, and with just one glance, he was aiming to strip it naked, see its true self and understand all there was to understand about it.
Seeing him staring at the holy barrier, Delilah thought he was silly. It's not like he can poke open a hole in it with his gaze or comprehend it!
Contrary to her thought, he really did!
『Ding! Congratulation! You have been successful in inspecting the Holy Barrier!』
『You have obtained the background information about the Holy Barrier!』
Feeling pleased, Roy's eyes squinted. He failed to inspect it the last time he came here, but now he was able to because there was a several-point increase and a qualitative change in his perception.
Not wasting any time idling like a toddler, he went through it quickly.
『A long time ago, the undead set out on an expedition to conquer the Far West Continent of the Far West Major Realm. The entire uncharted land was already there. The last thing left to be conquered was the Great Forest. The first hurdle in their path was the Ancient Kingdom of Icefall. At that time, there were only three ancient kingdoms. The Kings of these kingdoms were friends, and they had a mutual acquaintance, the Hunan Monarch. When the undead struck, the warriors of the icefall kingdom fought back ferociously. The situation looked dire for the icefall kingdoms as their warriors needed to rest, but the enemies didn't. Not to mention, the number of their enemies only increased with time instead of decreasing, and they didn't feel pain or hunger. Just as it looked like the frontline would fall, the request of the Water Celestial, the king of Icefall, was heard, and the Human Monarch, the king of the great forest, and the remaining two kingdoms, one of them the son of Yulran, also joined the fray. This fight went on for a while and eventually led to the foundation of the Northern Frontier.』
『Unable to collapse the Northern Frontier, the undead tried another route to invade the Great Forest. In order to stop them, the celestial stone, a stone that fell from heaven or, more precisely, the Flying Empire, was used to set up a barrier. This barrier couldn't be destroyed no matter how hard the undead banged it. Out of the two routes, one was forever blocked, and over the years, its name has changed to the Ashen Land!』
Completely different than history, this knowledge came as a pleasant surprise to Roy.
According to historical records, the Celestial Stone fell from heaven and landed directly here. But what he found out was completely different!
『The Holy Barrier is generated by the Celestial Stone!』
『Only the descendant of the three ancient kings can interact with the celestial stone using their force.』
『The one with the blood of the Golden Fire Giant can bind with it.』
『Currently, it's not bound to anyone.』
Roy didn't have the blood of the Golden Fire Giant, so he didn't bother splashing his blood on it to try his luck.
『It is slightly damaged as it has been attacked many times over the years. A small opening has appeared in it.』
Another system's notification rang in his mind.
His eyes lit up in joy, 'I came here to confirm precisely this.'
This was the very entrance the minor villain took to enter the Ashen Land. He would find it after "several months."
There was a chance that this entrance didn't exist now.
It was very far away. Instead of seeing that it didn't exist with his own eyes and feeling disappointed, he came here to verify first.
Now that he confirmed it existed, it was time to go there!
