# Chapter 57: The Light Orb's Mutation
Unlike Moldavia Territory, which was rejoicing at the return of its master, far away in the imperial capital at the center of the empire, within Morlai Palace, unsettling undercurrents surged.
The Helgamos Empire, ruled by the Diamond Family, had weathered nearly eight hundred years of storms and was one of the oldest regimes on the Mycroft Continent. This vast nation, commonly referred to as the Northern Empire, had not always been stable. Throughout its long life, there had been several moments when it teetered on the brink, close to splitting apart or even annihilation. The most recent of these was over twenty years ago, when the empire's war with the orcs reached its white-hot peak.
At that time, the previous emperor had passed away, and the current emperor had just ascended the throne. On the front lines, the orcs had achieved several major victories. The black smoke from cities burned by the Shaman Corps could even be seen from the Three Mountains Holy City. Several princes and princesses harbored malicious intentions, coveting the supreme throne. Over ten powerful nobles from the eastern territories coldly watched as the northwestern nobles and imperial forces were weakened, waiting for the day they could take their place. For the people of that era, the collapse of the Northern Empire was merely a matter of time. The common people were filled with resentment due to years of heavy taxes, nearly half of the powerful nobles intended to rebel, and even within the imperial family there were many traitors who planned to cede territory and negotiate peace with the orcs, just so they could sit on that throne.
One failure was all it would have taken for all this to cease being speculation and become historical fact. But Israel never gave them that chance.
Behind Morlai Palace, within the quiet royal gardens, the sound of flapping wings could be heard. As dozens of pure white pigeons fluttered up and down, one could see among these birds an exceptionally young-looking young man holding a bag of bird feed, smiling as he fed the white doves.
Sixth Prince Adrian stood at the center of this garden, which belonged exclusively to the Diamond Family. He carefully took from the bag in his hand the bird feed he had meticulously prepared, primarily made from corn kernels and Windfeather Grass, and distributed it to these cooing birds. He had a pair of violet eyes like gems, and his somewhat long, dark golden hair was neatly combed, reaching down to his waist. Adrian's features leaned somewhat toward the feminine, resembling his mother, who had once been the empire's greatest beauty, but not to the point of being effeminate.
He had undoubtedly inherited the best bloodline from both his father Israel and his mother. Whether in personal strength or political sensitivity, this sixth prince had always performed excellently. If it weren't for the fact that he had always been assisting his elder sister and never met with external ministers alone, perhaps many nobles would have considered trying to invest in this seemingly obscure prince. In reality, Adrian's only flaw was probably that he was too young. Many believed that if he and his sister had swapped ages, the empire's confusing political situation would have become much clearer.
Adrian was naturally aware of this, but he never paid attention to these rumors, which were definitely deliberately spread. He simply stood calmly in the center of the garden, feeding the pigeons, as if none of the undercurrents existed.
He hadn't had such leisurely time in a long while. Scattering handfuls of bird feed, the sixth prince absentmindedly recalled the past, those rare moments of peace over the past decade or so.
When Adrian was born, it was precisely during the second large-scale battle between the Northern Empire and the orcs on the Northwestern Plains. At that time, his father the emperor was not present, nor was his maternal grandfather, the most powerful noble of the western territories. In fact, there were hardly any men in all of Morlai Palace. All the imperial guards and knight attendants had followed their masters to the front lines. It was his sister, the third princess, who helped the doctors deliver him when their mother had a difficult labor.
Those were difficult times for the imperial family. Having lost their mother, he and his sister lived frugally, relying on each other. The orcs on the front lines were advancing aggressively. Under the leadership of a new generation of the Golden Tent Great Khan, the orc army of the royal court, having achieved military standardization, swept through all the dissident tribes on the Tartarus Plateau. Gathering the strength of their entire race, they intended to break through the empire's fortress at the Thomas Grand Canyon in the northwest and drive straight into the empire's heartland, establishing a formal foothold for the orcs on the Mycroft Continent. Meanwhile, ambitious nobles in the rear held heavy forces and watched with satisfaction, waiting only for the imperial forces to be defeated before immediately stirring up turmoil in the rear.
But none of that happened. Great Emperor Israel was invincible. The name of the legendary Sky Dragon Knight shook the entire world. All schemes and plots fell silent before absolute power, and peace arrived swiftly.
Of course, reality was not a fairy tale. After the war ended, everyone could not simply live happily ever after. In fact, for some people, the war was just beginning. The vast lands left by the orcs, twelve large mining sites, grasslands capable of raising hundreds of thousands of cattle, horses, and magical beasts, and the Tartarus Plateau with war beasts like the Stone Rhinoceros—whoever could possess these, their family would hold the advantage for the next few centuries. Now, after several years of peaceful development, the empire had somewhat recovered its vitality, and the reckoning and redistribution of imperial wealth was about to begin.
Filtering out all irrelevant information, this was the truth behind all the undercurrents. Adrian, who saw through all this, had no intention of getting involved. This was his father's revenge and revolution.
Tap, tap, tap. Steady, rhythmic footsteps came from the garden path, causing the pigeons that had been leisurely pecking to scatter in alert. The sixth prince helplessly looked up toward the direction of the path. There, a golden-haired, blue-eyed youth also looked up in surprise, meeting his elder brother's gaze.
"Alva." Nodding, directly calling the name of the only person in the imperial family younger than himself, Adrian's tone remained as calm as ever. "Here to train?"
"...Yes." Somewhat surprised to see another imperial brother in the garden, which was usually only visited by himself, Alva cautiously replied. He had no intention of conversing much with this usually taciturn brother, so he turned onto a side path and walked in another direction.
Adrian silently watched him leave. He could smell the scent on the other's body, see the lines of aura winding around Alva. He knew that was the scent of their father. The sixth prince could tell that his younger brother had just come from the royal study.
Everyone had their advantages. If the first prince's advantage was having a duke as his maternal grandfather, then the second prince and fifth princess had their own strength. The fourth prince could never fail from the start, because his maternal clan had been nearly wiped out in the orc war, placing him at the high ground of having "no enemies." As long as he didn't court disaster, no one could touch him.
And the seventh prince, this younger brother of his, perhaps it was precisely because of his youth.
Sighing slightly, Adrian waved his hand, and immediately the scattered birds all flew back from the woods to in front of him, returning to their previous clamor.
It wasn't because of their father's favor, but because of the room for choice.
The current Morlai Palace was filled with schemes and intrigue. The countless factions standing within the military, the nobility, and the Mage Association were simply tiresome. Although local noble forces dared not defy imperial authority due to the emperor's strength, paying lip service while acting differently was common. The large-scale water conservancy projects and supporting Mana Waterwheels that had been ordered to be built last year had still not begun implementation. While there were some objective factors, the core reason was that the local nobles had never cooperated from the start. Previously, to maintain national stability, even a legendary expert couldn't casually issue orders, because every minor noble had backing. If one traced it to the end, who knew if it might throw half the empire into turmoil.
But now it was different. If one legendary couldn't suppress all opposition, then what about three now?
Thinking of the rumors spreading through the palace about apprenticeship and disciples, even Adrian felt envious. Whether it was Master Nostradamus or that Northern Territory Count, their very existence was the greatest backing, a backing no less than the emperor's. Building good relations with these experts was more important than any family background. For these three to join forces, transforming an empire was not just a matter of time—even transforming the entire world was merely a matter of time.
Master Nostradamus was easy to meet. Adrian could find any excuse to visit the Royal Mage Association. But that Northern Territory Count required carefully choosing the right moment to pay respects. Fortunately, there was a business venture from his backing forces that wanted to cooperate with the count, and now there was an opportunity.
Nearby, at the other end of the garden, the sound of fists striking air came in succession. Adrian knew that Alva was diligently training himself. Ever since returning from his travels with their father and second brother, he had been training even harder. Perhaps he genuinely wanted to become Count Radcliffe's disciple.
What a pity. If he hadn't already had a mentor with an extraordinary status, he would definitely have tried as well.
Though he thought this, Adrian didn't pay it too much attention. These struggles for advantage, paving the way for future succession to the throne, had never had anything to do with him. Wanting to meet that Northern Territory Count was simply out of curiosity and because there was a business venture that could be attempted for cooperation.
If one were to say that the advantages of the various princes and princesses were all very obvious, the proper and upright path, then his and his sister's advantage was quite peculiar. Because from the very beginning, they had approached this competition that would decide the future with the mindset of "it doesn't matter if we lose."
"Don't you think so, Teacher 'Longwind'?"
Speaking softly to the gently flowing air around him, Adrian narrowed his deep purple eyes. And at that moment, accompanied by a slight flash of arcane power, a petite, light cyan, half-cyan humanoid figure appeared on his shoulder. The wind elemental fairy 'Longwind' seemed to quite like this young man who appeared somewhat feminine but actually had his own thoughts. Standing on the sixth prince's shoulder, she patted his cheek with her small hand and said confidently, "Of course! As long as we're here, no matter how down and out you become, you can always come play with us in Fairyland!"
"Oh, oh, you said you wanted to go see that young legendary warrior?" As she spoke, the fairy's thoughts took another turn. Longwind nodded her little head enthusiastically, muttering to herself, "Perfect timing, I haven't designed his card yet... You absolutely have to go!"
"Of course." Smiling slightly, Adrian knew this was his confidence to fear no changes. With the help of this lively fairy mentor he had met by chance in his childhood, no matter how badly he and his sister failed, they would never lose everything.
Rather, losing would be better.
Deep thoughts brewed in the deepest part of his heart. The sixth prince closed his eyes. The bag of bird feed in his hand was empty, but the flying white doves hadn't left. They continued to flutter around him. Surrounded by numerous birds, Adrian clenched his fist and couldn't help but reveal a somewhat feminine smile.
Because only by losing would that naive, cheerful, and sometimes adorably foolish sister of his give up her dream of becoming empress, lose all support and assistance, and be forced to rely on him alone, even to wander the ends of the earth together.
Only then would she never be able to escape his grasp.
At the other end of the empire, within the Lord's Mansion of Moldavia in the northern territories, a small meeting had already begun.
"We can't keep calling it Light Orb."
Sitting on the comfortable large chair in the hall, feeling the softness of the velvet cushion behind him, Joshua set the tone for this discussion with a concise statement. "I've said it many times—'it' is an intelligent life form. You can't keep treating it like a toy."
"Eh!" The silver-haired girl, who was standing in the hall holding a beige-yellow light orb, let out an involuntary exclamation. Ying lowered her head, looking at the warm sphere held against her chest, blinking in shock. "You have intelligence?!"
"Ling ding ding ling!"
The light orb made a sound of protest, but no matter how one listened, it was just wind chimes. However, Joshua seemed to understand. He nodded in agreement. "The light orb is right."
Ying: "?!"
"Why doesn't master choose a name?"
Beside them, Lin, who had been comforting Hei, who was sulking because the light orb had been taken from him, offered a constructive suggestion. He said softly, "After all, it was brought back by you... By the way, what did the light orb just say?"
"Me choose a name?" Not answering Lin's question, Joshua's attitude was somewhat indifferent. He muttered to himself, "Personally, I think Bai would be good. It would match Hei..." But just as he said this halfway, the light orb emitted a series of ringing sounds, seemingly expressing strong opposition.
"Then calling it Ling would feel a bit repetitive with Lin." Not paying attention to the light orb's objection, the warrior continued thinking. "What about Dingdang? Though there are quite a few with that name."
The light orb seemed to have become completely angry. A translucent, pure beam of light shot out from it, shining on Joshua. However, although this beam was impressive in appearance, it actually had no killing power. Not to mention the warrior, who looked comfortable and seemed to be enjoying it, the entire wooden chair, affected by the residual waves, seemed to be revitalized, with sprouts and roots beginning to grow. The young boy and girl nearby couldn't help but laugh.
But after a while, just as Joshua was about to shake his head and tell the light orb to stop before the chair actually sprouted, he suddenly frowned, then slowly sat up from the chair, his expression turning serious.
Seeing this, Ying, Lin, and Hei were all startled. They looked up at their master in unison. The light orb also seemed somewhat shocked, its emitted beam becoming intermittent. In response, Joshua gave a serious order. "Don't stop. Continue."
Receiving the instruction, the light orb resumed emitting its light. At the same time, Joshua raised his right hand. He focused his gaze on the palm of his right hand. The clearly defined lines, as if carved, were visible, with no abnormality. But moments later, under the illumination of the light orb's rays, another silver, brilliant radiance spread out, shining upon everything in the lord's mansion hall. Sensing the intense energy fluctuation, Number 3's projection immediately appeared in the hall, and she too was shocked by the scene before her.
In the center of the hall, the warrior raised his right hand. In his palm, a small fragment releasing pure silver radiance was spinning in midair. It looked like a fragment of steel, but its entire body flowed with startling energy light. Elemental forces like Condensed Dust, Longwind, Flame, and Frost Dew gathered around it, forming various rainbows, making it appear more dazzling than a star.
"Steel Shard."
In an instant, Joshua immediately understood. Although he had refused Carlis's goodwill, the latter had still given compensation in secret. A Steel Shard containing the authority of a world had somehow attached itself to him. If not for the illumination of the light orb, which had a similar status, it might have taken him several months to discover it.
By then, who knows what accidents might have happened!
But just as Joshua was frowning, thinking about how to deal with this Steel Shard, suddenly, an accident occurred. For some reason, the light orb, which had been lazy and held in Ying's arms, suddenly perked up. It leaped abruptly, arcing through the air, and then pounced directly toward the Steel Shard releasing its silver radiance, completely absorbing it into its own body.