# Chapter 2: The Great Change 5300
After experiencing many battles, Joshua was finally nearing the point of pushing the assimilation degree of Steel Force to one hundred percent.
Battle Qi was the power of combat, an extension of life force, and the ultimate expression of life force was 'Steel'. For Joshua, who had continuously pushed Battle Qi all the way to Steel Force, his method of advancement was to undergo one arduous battle after another, repeatedly destroying and reshaping his body. Each time he overcame an enemy, the mental and physical reshaping and sublimation would greatly increase his Steel Force assimilation value. Once he achieved one hundred percent assimilation, Joshua would advance to Legendary Mid-rank, completely achieving an indestructible steel body and ascending to an ultimate form surpassing all natural races.
Although it was merely Legendary Mid-rank, this was only a division in terms of realm. As an existence specialized in combat, even though Joshua had not yet fully sublimated, his pure combat capability was already no less than that of many predecessors—such as the Demon Lords Haier Mu and Saruka. These Greater Demons had achieved Legendary status for centuries and had naturally long completed their complete Legendary bodies, but when facing a warrior who was a pure killing machine, the two Demon Lords were completely unable to resist and could only retreat step by step.
This was not to say they were weak, but rather that when choosing their path at the beginning, Joshua, with his broader vision, had already opened an insurmountable gap between them.
At this moment, Joshua closed his eyes in meditation. By his side, specks of silver radiance began to gradually emerge. These silver radiances formed star-like patterns and began to orbit around the warrior. Seeing the warrior fall into this familiar state, Ying chuckled softly, quietly rose, and left the study. As she walked out, the girl casually closed the door behind her.
Large and small, a total of nine silver stars—some large, some small, some solid, some gaseous—floated in midair. They revolved around Joshua, or rather, around the Fusion Core Heart at the center of Joshua's chest, like the orbits of planets. The silver Steel Force slowly condensed, giving these somewhat illusory stars a tangible form. The core at the warrior's chest emitted a golden radiance, shining upon these stars like a true sun. It could be seen that the star closest to Joshua was locked by tidal forces and no longer rotated, while the second star was scorched red-hot. Only the third star received suitable illumination, reflecting a shimmering golden light.
Joshua's creations were becoming increasingly skilled. Now, with just a single thought, he could shape miniature celestial bodies. At this moment, he was strengthening his control over Steel Force. This control was not merely about energy release and fine-tuning, but extended to the microscopic level, even to the control of intangible gravitational waves. After all, at the Legendary level, the enemies Joshua would face would become increasingly powerful. Pure physical attacks or energy impacts would become increasingly ineffective, and mass fluctuations or space-time tearing slashes might not be so useful either. He felt that beyond his usual attacks, he indeed needed some trump cards, and gravity should be a good choice.
The silver stars rotated, carrying a hazy silver light. It intermingled with the golden Fusion Core light, transforming into a brilliant, pure radiance. As Joshua sank into a deeper state of meditation, gradually, a warm glow that could penetrate the study door and the thick walls of the Lord's Manor began to spread outward from the warrior as the center. Although this light had become imperceptible by the time it reached the nearest street, the intangible waves spread at the speed of light, instantly covering both inner and outer Moldavia.
Within the Lord's Manor, all the maids were accustomed to this sudden burst of light. As long as the Lord was in the manor, such light would appear many times a day. After all, working for a Legendary expert, they had long been mentally prepared for special situations. The residents living near the Lord's Manor also found it unremarkable, even boasting to friends and relatives about being able to see the radiance emanating from the Lord.
No one realized what these lights truly meant, except for certain existences that were not 'human'.
The Moldavia Reception Hall, a tall building located in the city center, housed mostly wealthy merchants and distinguished guests who had come from elsewhere for business or tourism. The rest were basically Transcendent experts from all over the world. Now, in a certain VIP room on the seventh floor of the reception hall, the direct descendant of the Fairy Empress of Earth Elementals, the Earth Elemental Fairy Princess 'Ning Chen', awoke from a nightmare of fear and destruction. The other fairies who were either resting or playing cards, along with the Empire's Sixth Prince, all turned their heads in surprise to look at this usually lazy companion.
"Ning Chen, are you alright?"
Sixth Prince Adrian was currently sitting at a desk, seriously examining a stack of contracts and agreements—documents concerning the agency rights for Fae Cards across the world and production agreements with the Mana Factory. These were undoubtedly priceless, worth more than ten thousand gold, but before the safety of his companion, they were worthless. Adrian quickly put down the various agreement documents and hurried over to the petite Earth Elemental Fairy. He asked with concern, "You've been having nightmares frequently lately... What's going on?"
The other three small fairies also flew to Ning Chen's side with worried expressions, each hugging one of the small fairy's arms and her head, speaking in turn with concern: "Yeah, this won't do." "If we go back like this, we won't be able to explain to the Empress." "Did you eat something bad?"
"No... It's nothing."
The awakened Earth Elemental Fairy even forgot to use her 'Du Du Lu' verbal tic. With a frightened expression, she glanced in the direction of the Lord's Manor. As an Earth Elemental Fairy second only to the Earth Goddess's divine descendants in the domain of earth, Ning Chen could naturally detect the 'intangible waves' that had swept through both inner and outer Moldavia and were even spreading beyond the city. She also knew the substance of the light.
It was materialized microparticle light streams, suppressed gravitational waves... Fierce and unmatched energy was stirring within that small Lord's Manor. Over thirty million tons of mass were churning within a room of no more than thirty square meters... The radiance shone, beautiful and magnificent, but beneath the pleasing appearance lay terrifying destructive power.
To put it this way: if the power causing these fluctuations were to lose control even slightly, the violent energy flow would erase most of Moldavia in an instant. The earth within dozens of miles would be compressed into a small, ultra-dense sphere. The entire Northern Lands would be ravaged by frenzied gravity into a wasteland unsuitable for human habitation.
How dare he... How dare he release this level of power in the city center!
For a moment, Ning Chen almost blurted out these words, but then the small fairy couldn't help but sigh deeply. Why wouldn't he dare? Could it be that a Legendary expert couldn't control his own power? If they couldn't even do that, how could they qualify as Legendary?
If the Nature Mentor lost control, the violent natural energy would transform the entire area around Eternal Lake into a highly alienated otherworld. Even an Ultimate-rank expert would be unable to resist the mutation and proliferation of every cell in their body.
If Pope Eagle lost control, half of the Far South and the entire Far Sea might be scoured by boiling light streams, turning into a seething sea of lava. A quarter of the southern settlement would be burned to white ash.
If Barbarossa lost control, the hundreds of kilometers centered on the Sky-Piercing White Tower would become a turbulent zone of elemental riot. The seven elements would become storms that destroy everything, turning all things into dust.
Even the Fairy Empresses were the same. In the Fairyland, each Empress was the materialized incarnation of a certain element. If even a single error occurred in their work, the entire Fairyland would instantly collapse, along with the millions of fairies dwelling within, turning into energy fragments in the void. But for over six hundred years, the Fairyland had remained as stable as ever, still operating steadily outside the world. The same was true for other Legendary experts. They might fall to powerful enemies, but they would never be defeated by themselves.
However, living alongside Legendary experts was like this. As sublimated beings, their mere existence could bring endless fear and threat to ordinary people. Dwelling beside them was like accompanying a fierce tiger to sleep. Although she knew this tiger would not bite her, life's instinct still made the fairy feel extremely uneasy.
Forcing a smile, the Earth Elemental Fairy calmed her worried companions and the Sixth Prince. She knew she was overthinking things, so she didn't plan to reveal the truth. Adrian nodded noncommittally. He walked to the window of the reception hall and pulled open the thick curtains—instantly, the golden light of noon streamed into the room.
The sun was now high in the sky, casting golden radiance over the entire city of Moldavia. This warm light passed through the window and fell upon Ning Chen, enough to dispel the unease and fear in the Earth Elemental Fairy's heart. Ning Chen felt her cold body warm slightly, and she couldn't help but cast a grateful glance at this young human—compared to the always busy and working Israel, his son was gentle and considerate.
If not for this, they wouldn't have sneaked out and run all over the world with this little fellow.
"I originally planned to visit Count Radcliffe this afternoon to discuss matters concerning Fae Cards."
Seeing the Earth Elemental Fairy's improving complexion suddenly turn pale again, Adrian quickly said, "But since Ning Chen isn't feeling well, let's stay at the reception hall. Um, Liu Shui, Guang Yan, you two stay at the hotel too and take care of her. Chang Feng and I will go."
Visiting Joshua had long been written into the Sixth Prince's schedule. Recently, Fae Cards had become increasingly popular, and the Legendary cards authorized by Legendary experts were naturally sought after by the masses. Many wealthy people were willing to pay considerable sums to obtain these highly collectible cards. But after such a long time, no matter how exquisite the cards were, they would gradually lose their novelty. Therefore, Adrian planned to visit several more Legendary experts, obtain their authorization, and conceive new Legendary cards.
Thanks to Adrian's father and the Northern Empire, as well as the enthusiastic recommendations of Baniel and William, most Legendary experts would not refuse this little fellow's interesting proposal. After all, seeing one's name widely circulated was also a good thing. Some Legendary experts had even grown fond of this peculiar card game. Now, the second batch of Legendary cards was mostly manufactured, leaving only the elusive Count Radcliffe, who never seemed to be in the Lord's Manor.
Amidst the fairies' sparse but sincere farewells, Adrian walked along the streets of inner Moldavia with the Wind Elemental Fairy 'Chang Feng', who was invisible to ordinary people. The noon sun of early summer traced its path across the center of the sky. He strolled along the clean gray stone avenue, appreciating the street-side scenery of this rapidly changing northern city.
Under the large-scale development of mana industry, the entire Northern Lands had undergone tremendous changes. The fastest and greatest change was naturally in Moldavia. Walking on a newly built high bridge, Adrian looked down at the city's layout. Below him, large patches of exquisite tiled roofs extended from the city center to the outer districts. The huge dome of Saint Lawrence Cathedral rose from amidst countless neat and orderly residences, holy light flickering around the circular holy emblem.
Further away, one could see strangely shaped 'towers' in operation. At their tops, cubes composed of huge prisms rotated, accumulating dense magical light. These buildings, named 'Light Prism Towers' by the Lord, could transmit energy to each other through light streams, channeling the mana from the huge Stellar Vein Elemental Furnace deep underground to various parts of the city, supplying the consumption of countless alchemical machines.
At this moment, Moldavia had completely lost its ancient, simple appearance. As one of the most thoroughly mana-industrialized large urban circles in this world, it changed with each passing day, different from the day before. One could see construction teams in simple mana armor constantly peeling away the gray stone pavement and replacing it with a special cement-like substance. It was rumored that the raw materials for this cement came from the forests of the Abyss, possessing peculiar magnetic properties. Certain vehicles relying on magnetic levitation could easily operate on such roads.
Adrian turned his head to look at another side of the city. In the southeast direction, airships of various sizes were landing and taking off. Mana factories spewed purified gray smoke, obscuring half the sky. Within the smoke and clouds, a blue dragon flew slowly, followed closely by a large team of knights riding young white dragons, causing the Sixth Prince to couldn't help but admire the excellent training of the White Dragon Knight Order.
Thus, admiring this scene that was both fantastical and highly advanced, the Sixth Prince soon arrived at the Lord's Manor located in the center of the inner city. However, just as Adrian announced his identity, he received an unexpected answer.
"You're saying the Count just went out again?" "Such a big Legendary expert, he was just here... How did he suddenly disappear!"
Unable to hear the fairy's complaints but able to hear the Imperial Prince's surprised question, the gatekeeper also showed a wry smile. This knight in armor scratched his helmet somewhat helplessly, then replied in a muffled voice honestly: "Your Highness, I'm really not deceiving you. I just heard Miss Number Three's notification... The Lord received an urgent communication not long ago and went out directly. We don't have a way to contact him, and we don't know when he'll return."
As a personal guard knight of the Radcliffe Family, this gatekeeper had long been accustomed to the Lord's unpredictable comings and goings. For this situation, they had long established a set of procedures. The knight seemed to hear some instruction, then simply opened the gate: "Please come in, Your Highness. Miss Number Three said that the Lord knew you would come today and had already prepared the documents. So you just need to wait a while in the reception room. Miss Ying will hand over the documents to you."
Although he had missed the target, being able to accomplish his goal wasn't bad. Adrian shrugged somewhat regretfully, but Chang Feng, sitting on his shoulder, frowned. Although Joshua von Radcliffe was a Legendary, most of his exploits were not in the Mycroft World. Even his most recent battle against invaders from another world had no witnesses... Without personally recounted deeds, how was she supposed to write Legendary cards?
Harboring this doubt, the two were guided by a maid through the courtyard. When passing by the artificial lake, they naturally saw the black dragon girl floating on the water, her face pale as a salted fish, and the light orb happily bouncing on her black belly. Because of the fairies, Adrian had long become accustomed to such strange situations, but Chang Feng, as a fairy, couldn't help but let out an "Eh?" She blinked, looking at the light orb, and the light orb seemed to notice something, looking back at her.
"Ding ding ling?"
"Du, du du lu?"
Leaving aside the light orb and the fairy who had suddenly started communicating in strange languages, at this moment, above the Great Aias Mountains, inside a peculiar floating airship.
Joshua entered the familiar airship cabin, frowning slightly. Ignoring the guidance of the elemental puppets beside him, he strode directly toward the experimental cabin. The reason for the warrior to interrupt his day's training and leave Moldavia was that Baniel and William, two Legendary spellcasters, were gathered there whispering to each other.
Joshua reached out and pushed open the door to the experimental cabin. As he pushed, he asked directly: "What's going on? Why use the terminal's emergency communication? What major event has occurred?"
Joshua naturally also had an information terminal, which he had long integrated into his body, becoming one of the many supernatural organs within him. The emergency communication he mentioned was a method of mutual contact among several familiar Legendary experts.
Just now, while beginning his cultivation in the study, Joshua had suddenly received an emergency communication from two Legendary mages. So he left the Lord's Manor and arrived above the Great Aias Mountains. Sure enough, the airship belonging to the two Legendary spellcasters had just traveled through space-time to arrive here.
"Ah, you're here."
Having long sensed Joshua's arrival, but only now greeting him, Baniel and William were currently engaged in heated discussion over a huge crystal cabinet in the center of the laboratory. Their faces were extremely serious, an expression that even made Joshua pause for a moment—he knew that even when numerous extra-worldly Legendaries had come to invade the Mycroft World, these two easygoing Legendaries hadn't been this serious. But then, the warrior immediately pressed: "Greetings can wait. What's so urgent?"
"Concerning magic... or rather, the essence of the world."
Before William and Baniel could speak, accompanied by space-time vibrations, a deep, low voice passed through a space-time tunnel and entered the airship. Joshua looked up, and what came into view was a bald mage in a long robe—Elemental Controller Barbarossa, his expression gloomy, even more serious than the other two Legendary mages.
Walking through the space-time gate, Barbarossa looked at the warrior and nodded slightly: "It's a long story. This matter is truly too unbelievable... Count Radcliffe, we need your assistance."
"We need your Steel Force to verify some things."