I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

The rapidly growing forest had no chance to resist, as a vast clearing was made at its center.

Knight wearing platinum-colored full Armor, riding equally well-armed muscular steeds, scoured the area ceaselessly, seeming to search for something.

Not far away, platoons of soldiers were clearing the surrounding woods, a formidable project for the Guards like Child, but not much for this well-trained army.

In the center of the forest, a flag emblazoned with a golden lion fluttered in the wind; several husky men in Armor stood beneath it, discussing something.

"Milan Group Leader, when we arrived, only the Mercenary Group’s camp was left here, we didn’t find traces of those mercenaries, and now we are exploring in all directions,"

Walsh, captain of the first squadron of the Golden Lion Knights, bowed and respectfully reported to the man surrounded by others at the center.

The man wearing the golden armor had a stern face, with lines that showed signs of the passage of time; his temples were touched by frost, but his robust build and thick arms betrayed the terrifying Strength hidden within him.

This was the Kingdom’s premier Knight Order leader—the Golden Lion Knight Commander Bivis Milan.

"Expand the search area, clear out this entire forest for me, we must find out what exactly happened here!"

Bivis commanded with an undeniable tone, his demeanor calm and cold.

Walsh looked somewhat surprised, but the military discipline prevented him from questioning Bivis’s reasons, and he promptly performed a knight’s salute and went to carry out the orders.

Those around, feeling the low pressure surrounding Bivis, dared not speak much.

Although Bivis’s aide-de-camp didn’t know what exactly happened to cause the usually composed and calm Bivis to lose control over his emotions, he still ventured to speak:

"Bivis, this adventure team you’re looking for is likely no longer in this region."

He paused for a moment, noticing Bivis slightly turn his head, the aide-de-camp continued:

"There are no signs of battle nearby, nor any other anomalies. I can only think of two possibilities."

"The first possibility is that they discovered the cause of the abnormalities in this area and pursued it, possibly even leaving the forest, without time to tidy up the camp."

Having said that, the aide-de-camp himself shook his head, feeling that possibility was rather unlikely.

"The second is that due to some accident, they vanished directly from the camp."

"This possibility is more likely; Space Transmission, overlap with a Different Plane, projection from a Divine Country, and so on. If it’s really like this, it will be difficult for our Knight Order to thoroughly investigate."

Listening to his aide-de-camp’s opinion, Bivis’s brows knitted tightly, as he had also thought of these possibilities.

But if the second scenario was true, it would mean that the situation Arsen and the others faced was even more dangerous.

Once the Royal Palace received the distress message Arsen sent using a special artifact, His Majesty the King immediately arranged for his trusted Bivis to lead the capital’s most elite Golden Lion Knights on a rescue mission.

A journey that took Lis and the others two days to complete, Bivis and his men rushed to the site of Arsen and the others’ disappearance in just under half a day.

But now, Bivis found himself somewhat at a loss.

Even the current location of Arsen and his party was unclear.

Hmph!

Bivis was somewhat irritated, as it had been a long time since he couldn’t control his emotions.

The youngest son of the Hade family had died, he was supposed to look after Little Taya, yet training and hardening did not include facing such dangers!

If Arsen were before Bivis now, he reckoned he’d have already slapped him hard.

As the Golden Lion Knight Commander and one of His Majesty the King’s confidants, Bivis naturally knew of Ya’er’s true identity.

Even, Little Taya had spent a great deal of time learning by Bivis’s side.

Bivis had long regarded Little Taya as his own close-disciple.

Although heralded as the strongest warrior of the kingdom, the first person beneath the Legendary Warrior, and known as "Feis’s Majestic Lion," Bevis was well aware that he might never be able to break through that barrier and achieve legend in his lifetime.

But Little Taya could. Ever since she had displayed her terrifying talent, she had been regarded as the kingdom’s most precious treasure and was secretly protected; few knew of her identity.

To ensure Taya’s smoother growth, the kingdom’s best resources and most top-notch instruction were all invested in her.

Even the companions for her adventures were specially arranged or covertly vetted, including Lis.

As long as Taya could break through the limits and become the first Legendary-level warrior of Feis Kingdom, then all the sacrifices would be worthwhile.

Therefore, whether from the kingdom’s interest or Bevis’s personal feelings, he hoped nothing would happen to Ya’er.

Without hesitation, Bevis immediately ordered his subordinates:

"Immediately send a message to the Royal Palace, report the actual situation to His Majesty the King, and request the Royal Mage Corps to send support!"

"Yes!"

A Golden Lion knight beside him executed Bevis’s orders on the spot.

Bevis looked into the distance with a worried expression.

God of Dawn above, let everything be safe for Little Taya!

---------------

It wasn’t long before support from the Royal Mage Corps arrived at the scene through the remote positioning Transmission Array.

The person who came was none other than the Vice Chancellor of the Royal Magic Academy and the Deputy Leader of the Royal Mage Corps, Odysseus Blumer.

Odysseus had known Bevis for many years and was naturally aware of the special nature of the situation, so he didn’t waste any time and began to investigate on the spot right away.

Odysseus, white-haired but with a vigorous spirit, quickly identified the hidden issue with the space.

"There are signs of spatial folds in this area, there must have been a Space Transmission recently," Odysseus said, frowning.

"Is that so?"

Bevis’s spirit lifted at the hint of a lead, and he quickly asked,

"Can you trace the specific location of the transmission?"

"This seems to be a Transmission Array set up by a High-level Mage, with capabilities not inferior to mine, let me give it a try," Odysseus said without making any promises. He gently shook his right hand, which held a pitch-black Magic Wand, and invisible ripples spread out from him to cautiously probe the space around them.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred.

The space in front of Odysseus and Bevis suddenly distorted on a large scale, and a few figures abruptly materialized before them.

After a short but familiar bout of dizziness, Lis came to his senses and immediately reached for the top of his head.

It was chillingly cold.

Good, Angela had indeed come out with him.

Otherwise, with the tomb completely destroyed, even if Lis had a secret realm crystal, he wouldn’t be able to return.

But maybe due to the great consumption just now, or perhaps trusting Lis a bit too much, the Little Bat Angela went straight to sleep on top of Lis’s head, without stirring.

Only then did Lis look around; Ya’er, Arsen, Ailina, and Lunbos were all there, seemingly unharmed. They were lucky indeed.

Suddenly, Lis realized that the surrounding forest had vanished, replaced by hundreds, maybe thousands, of well-equipped soldiers.

Two old men stood in front of him, sternly staring in his direction.

Damn, what’s going on?