Chapter 2: News
When Joshua and Nostradamus arrived at the edge of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, exploration teams from the major powers were just entering this demiplane.
Above the sky, the silver sun rotated its light, and mana-infused sunlight swept across the air and the earth, gradually purifying and expelling the near-infinite abyssal aura that had accumulated for a thousand years. The intense toxicity originally contained in the dust and sand had been greatly reduced. The Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground had regained its vitality. According to this purification progress, it would be fully restored within twenty years. If the Dominant Will were to be strengthened again midway, or if external personnel assisted, this speed would accelerate.
At the temporal edge of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, the exploration team that had just crossed the demiplane barrier and entered this small alien world immediately noticed this situation. But they had no time to check the surrounding changes, as they all bowed respectfully toward the front. For there, a black-haired man whose mere mass could distort space, and a seemingly absent-minded middle-aged man, were floating directly ahead, sizing them up with keen interest.
"It's Barbarossa's people."
Having already sensed that someone was entering the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground from this direction, Nostradamus scanned the exploration team members who were congratulating them on their return and said softly, "They're always this fast."
"The other directions aren't slow either. All seven major powers have entered."
Through the prompts of the Dominant Will, Joshua could also perceive some of the situation within the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. He blinked and said, "Quite a scene. Did they come to welcome us or to surround us?"
"...What exactly is your thought process made of?"
At this moment, both Joshua and Nostradamus, who were casually joking, were wearing attire from the Central Courtyard world. Although the colors and styles were tailored to their preferences, making them resemble the common black coats and mage robes of the Mycroft world, both the material and appearance were slightly different. There was even a subtle sense of incongruity with this world. The demiplane exploration team under Barbarossa, the legendary mage of the Sky-Piercing White Tower, was initially in shock and inexplicable fear upon encountering the two returning legends. But within a few seconds, most of them regained normal thinking due to the [Calming Pendants] they wore. They naturally noticed the difference in the clothing of the two legendary powerhouses.
"Alien world materials."
"It's not anti-magic material. On the contrary, it has good mana compatibility. It's just that, being from another world, it can't adapt to the mana environment of the Mycroft world."
"Need to inform the base... The two lords have returned from an alien world. It appears to be voluntary, not due to being exiled by a trap in the demiplane."
In just a few short seconds, these elites deduced a great deal of information from the clothing of Joshua and the others. They even determined from the style of the garments that the alien world they had visited possessed a civilization with a fairly developed handicraft industry. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to design and produce two sets of clothing woven from precious mana materials for them in such a short time.
Joshua could hear the whispers and discussions of every member of the exploration team, but he didn't care. Because later, without needing their deductions, he would truthfully inform them of most of the situation—except for the World Will and the birth of the Plague Evil God. This wasn't concealment; Joshua simply felt that those people wouldn't understand anyway. If he had to explain, it would likely turn into a large-scale science lesson, and he wasn't here to be a biology teacher.
But speaking of which, did Winterfell Academy not have a biology subject yet? That wouldn't do. The warrior decided to add it when he returned.
Soon, exploration teams from other powers also entered the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground one after another. The teams from the Sky-Piercing White Tower, the Church of the Seven Gods, the Northern Empire, the Eastern Sea, the Fishmen, the Elves, and the Western Mountain Royal Family all discovered Joshua and Nostradamus floating in mid-air. They immediately nervously set up equipment and called the main base in the Fairyland, informing them that the silver meteor was indeed the two returning legendary powerhouses, who had now arrived at the edge of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground and made contact with the exploration teams.
Legendary powerhouses naturally couldn't stay in the Fairyland all the time, watching over the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. Whether it was Barbarossa, Faina, or the Fishman High Priest, they were all leaders of major powers with many affairs to handle and decisions to make. Faina, as a Sage, had it relatively easy, since she only commanded the Sea Dragon Knight Order and a few cities. But Barbarossa was different. The Eastern Kingdoms dependent on the Sky-Piercing White Tower numbered at least several dozen, occupying most of the Eastern Plains. Even though most of his affairs were shared by his subordinates and students, decisions regarding a region's construction plans for the next few centuries still had to be made by him.
The situation was similar for other powers. The legendary powerhouses were not currently in the Fairyland, but as soon as the exploration base sent the message, almost all of them set aside their current tasks and set out for the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. This wasn't just to welcome Joshua and Nostradamus; more importantly, they were curious about what lay at the center of this demiplane that could make two legends leave this temporal realm and return safely, and what kind of alien world could bind a legendary mage specializing in time and space for over ten days.
Before the other legendary powerhouses arrived, Joshua and Nostradamus first found the exploration team of the Northern Empire. The warrior scanned them and nodded with some interest: "The Black Crow Legion's insignia... How nostalgic. It reminds me of the days when I was in their ranks, fighting the Orcs."
At the beginning of his transmigration, he had been a part of this legion, waking up in the Thomas Grand Canyon while fighting the Orcs. He remembered that he should have been the vice-commander of the vanguard force at the time. By position, it was already considered achieving much at a young age. If there had been no subsequent disasters in this world and his family had remained safe, he would have taken over as commander of the vanguard force after the war and fully controlled the entire Black Crow Legion a decade or so later.
But how could the Radcliffe Family be safe? The guardian family tasked with sealing the Evil God's land was destined to have every head of the family die unnaturally. Those willing to take this position were either those who already knew their mission, or fools blinded by power and influence, like Joshua's uncle. More often, they were normal people like Joshua's cousin, who would rather live incognito than have any connection with this dangerous family.
Arriving at the temporary camp set up by the Northern Empire's exploration team, Joshua and Nostradamus paid no attention to the greetings and salutes of those around them. It was only then that others noticed, beneath the powerful presence of the two legendary powerhouses, there was also a pair of a young boy and girl, and... a ball?
The reason for calling it a ball, without using any other adjective, was because Little Light was rapidly changing its form at that moment. Under the joint restraint of a headache-ridden Ying and Lin, the light orb didn't fly around wildly, but its shell was transforming elements according to a certain pattern: first water, then fire, then earth and wind, positive and negative, and even pure, attribute-less ether mana. Now it looked like a constantly changing rainbow ball, with the power of countless elements freely controlled by it, emitting light.
Joshua didn't stop Little Light, who was having fun, from its conspicuous behavior. He felt this should be an ability it gained after swallowing the third Steel Shard. Now it seemed that the Carlis fragment representing Nature's Force, the Ilgena fragment representing Life Energy, and the Starry fragment representing Psychic Power had formed a basic cycle. Having obtained them, Little Light was in a sensitive transition period. Joshua felt it was better to let its nature run free and see what fruit it would bear, rather than restrain it.
Many of the Black Crow Legion soldiers in the camp recognized Joshua, and some were even his former subordinates or comrades in the army. Some found it hard to believe that their former comrade had become a legendary powerhouse, but more came forward excitedly to pay their respects. Joshua didn't find it annoying; instead, he smiled and exchanged a few words with everyone who dared to greet him. Time passed quickly like this, until a noticeable temporal fluctuation made Joshua and Nostradamus turn their heads simultaneously.
"It's Faina."
Nostradamus nodded to Joshua beside him. "Barbarossa is following behind her. Those two must have set off as soon as they got the news."
"They're really doing us honor. So, what should we do now?"
Joshua was holding Little Light, which looked like a rainbow candy, up to his eyes for inspection. But even with his legendary-level eyesight, it was difficult to discern in a short time why the light orb could so easily transform the seven elements. So, after the old mage spoke, he followed up with a question.
"Let's go see them first. They should be waiting for us in the void."
Nostradamus said this without hesitation, as if he had already planned it. "The Sky-Piercing White Tower also guards a Chaos seal site. They should know about the recent movements of the Evil Gods as soon as possible."
For the old mage, the shock from this battle with the Plague Evil God's minions was far greater than for Joshua. For the warrior, killing Chaos monsters and demons had become a pastime, even his job and daily routine. But Nostradamus didn't have such a good mindset. Seeing the Great Devourers, which existed only in ancient texts and history, appear before his very eyes had given the old mage quite a shock.
The Evil Gods were touring the realms along the waves of the Great Magic Tide, and the Mycroft world was undoubtedly part of their trajectory, even a very important part. In the Central Courtyard world, Joshua had already informed Nostradamus of this, but the other legendary powerhouses didn't know yet. The current Mycroft world was not prepared to face an Evil God-level impact. Everyone was immersed in the peace after the Mad Dragon Plague disaster. Even the ongoing war in the Western Mountain settlement was just a routine human civil war. After all, a war between small states with a combined army of less than two hundred thousand was mere child's play compared to fighting millions of void monsters.
Moreover, the peering from the Abyss was also a point that required attention. Thinking about it carefully, the Mycroft world was indeed fraught with crises.
Joshua instructed Ying and Lin to take care of Little Light, then rose into the air with Nostradamus, preparing to head to the void to meet the other legendary powerhouses. But halfway there, the old mage suddenly showed a strange expression: "Strange, why is he here? I thought this time it would be Di Mo Er leading the team..."
Hearing a familiar name, Joshua also focused a bit, sensing the aura of a powerhouse in the void. He then chuckled: "It's Israel—it seems our Emperor is truly angry."
Whether Israel was angry or not was unknown to them. But as the warrior and the old mage tore through space together and entered the void, they found many people waiting for them.
In the void, the temporal ripples from countless worlds churned together, forming endless temporal currents. In this chaotic region without color or direction, only legendary powerhouses who could illuminate their path with their own strength could survive and advance. Yet now, in this very space, three people were waiting for the warrior and the others. Five legends—this was already half the number of legendary powerhouses in the entire world.
At the head was the Northern Empire's Emperor, [Sky Dragon Knight] Israel. This time, he still hadn't brought his dragon, but he was wearing battle armor. The tips of the spikes protruding from the ferocious dragon knight armor were slightly red, whether stained by the blood of enemies or representing the flames of a giant dragon. Israel first sized up Joshua, then looked at the old mage. He was slightly startled: "Nostradamus, you're injured?"
As a former warrior, Israel could naturally see through Nostradamus's condition at a glance. And he was right. The old mage had healed his own injuries, but the star-destroying energy beam released by the void mother beast was enough to scorch the entire surface of an ecosystem bit by bit. As an individual, Nostradamus had done well just to dodge it. His recuperation on the Central Courtyard star had only restored the old mage to eighty percent of his peak strength.
That a legendary powerhouse could sustain such injuries was indeed shocking news. Not just Israel, but Barbarossa and Faina, who were present, also looked up at Joshua and Nostradamus. They naturally understood the severity of this news: although Nostradamus had only recently advanced, he had been a renowned powerful spellcaster on the continent before reaching that realm. No one would think that such a figure would be far inferior to them after advancing. An existence capable of injuring him could also potentially injure them.
But these two had rather reserved personalities and weren't particularly close to the legendary powerhouse of the Northern Empire, so they didn't ask.
"It's a long story."
Nostradamus didn't reply directly. He turned to look at Joshua, handing over the right to explain to the warrior. "I was also caught up in it by accident. Joshua understands the situation better."
Feeling the gazes of the other three legendary powerhouses turn to him, Joshua didn't feel any pressure. He glanced at Barbarossa and Faina, two powerful spellcasters he had met a few times in his previous life, then looked toward the Fairyland, sensing the auras within. He said, "I'll start explaining once the others arrive."