Emergency Response (Part 1)

Arthur Carter is also a Fourth Order Mage, the Fifth Seat of the Elemental School, and a member of the Alliance Council.

Looking at the profile alone, you might think it's nothing special; isn't he just an ordinary Fourth Order Mage the Alliance mage?

And it seems they're not doing too well. The truly active Fourth Order Mage can rank in the top three in their respective School, and the Fifth Seat is often reserved for Third Order Mage who have made significant achievements.

However, Yaso's situation is clearly different, otherwise Elijah wouldn't be making fun of Arthur here.

First of all, the Elemental School is a School, and its size can be said to be the largest School within the Alliance, with more than twice the number of people as the second-ranked School.

In this situation, the ranking of seats within School cannot be simply calculated based on the top three seats.

Basically, the top seven or eight seats are the top three seats that the Elemental School takes from other School. In terms of influence and strength, the two are not much different.

However, Arthur was able to sit in the Fifth Seat not because of his academic influence, nor because of his insight into magical combat.

He has been largely out of the public eye for years, and there has been virtually no news about Arthur in recent years.

Under these circumstances, it would be unreasonable to give the Fifth Seat to Arthur.

But Elijah knew that Arthur's position was probably more secure than his own, and more secure than any other position in the Elemental School.

This is because of Arthur's surname, and also because of Arthur's brother, Keen Carter.

He was the former Chief of the Elemental School, Fifth Order Legendary.

Back when Keen was still around, Arthur had only barely reached the Fourth Order Order, and theoretically shouldn't have been able to secure a place.

However, when Keen left, the new Chief of the Elemental School, in order to win over the former Chief's subordinates, placed Arthur in the Fifth Seat.

However, differing opinions exist within the Elemental School. Some believe this is a defilement of the sanctity of the position and an abuse of the Chief's authority...

But regardless of the circumstances, judging from the current situation, it seems Arthur has no chance of leaving his position.

Unless the current Chief dies suddenly, or Arthur himself passes away.

"Elijah, you did a great job just now."

Arthur did not respond to Elijah's words; he did not even acknowledge Tristan and Ophelia, who were still tense.

"However, your move to involve the Alliance was too rash. Wasn't it somewhat ill-considered?"

Elijah sat down in the chair again, not looking at Arthur, and said to himself:

"I'm truly sorry, but I think my involvement with the Alliance might lead to a harsher price to pay later..."

Elijah didn't seem to regret it at all. He seemed to remember something, so he quickly pulled out another piece of paper from under the table.

"I almost forgot to record this conversation; I'll need to document what happened in Council later."

Arthur frowned. He was somewhat dissatisfied with Elijah, but he didn't intend to dwell on the matter.

"Elijah, I thought you would sign something on that Abyss Contract that would allow you to track down the Proxy of that Lord of Radiance, but you didn't. Why is that?"

"I remember you gave Charles a scathing critique during the last Council Council, arguing that he was practically allowing the loopholes in the Alliance to widen."

Elijah stopped writing and explained with a smile:

"These are two different things, Arthur Carter. Don't try to apply the ideas of your time to the present."

"Although I still believe that the Proxy of the Lord of Radiance would have an impact on the Alliance after mastering that technology."

"But right now, the Alliance itself is more important."

"There are two potential dangers. One has already shown initial signs but is not very harmful. I still have time to deal with this danger, at least ten years."

"One is something we've already foreseen, which hasn't happened yet, but once it does, we'll be forced to stop breathing."

Elijah raised his head and looked at the spot where Fran was sitting.

"I know what a person who becomes an agent of the gods would think. She would be proud because the power bestowed upon her by the gods would allow her to far surpass other professionals of the same level."

"Even if reaching the Legendary is unattainable, the third tier is still easily achievable, and even the Fourth Order is not out of the question."

"Even if she harbors some deep-seated hatred, the power boost granted by the Deity is enough to give her hope."

"At this point, we've blocked all her escape routes like a pack of wolves hunting, but if we now leave her a path leading upwards to avoid danger, she'll definitely take it."

Elijah then turned his gaze to Arthur, the old man who had lived through almost half of the Alliance's history.

"I believe that if she has no other choice, she will draw her sword and kill a few of our precious wolves, but that will only happen if there is absolutely no other way."

"For an Proxy of Deity and for such a young man who still holds hope."

"As long as she can survive, there is still hope, and she will never activate the Abyss Contract in her hand."

Arthur didn't react in any particular way, but instead brought up something else.

"You might have to explain to those members of Council then that they're not like an old man like me who can't even lift a staff."

Elijah's smile widened, and he covered it slightly with his hand before saying:

"I know that, but I also know that they raised their staffs not to punish my claims, but to commend my decision."

"After all, I have already signed the Abyss Contract on behalf of the Alliance, so I must participate in this important matter."

"Isn't a mage who has signed such a contract more qualified and more deeply involved in this matter than those sitting in their seats as members of parliament?"

"Why do you think it's you from the Elemental School, and me instead? There are no mages from other School."

"Who do you think issued that blockade order? It cost a fortune, especially for a plan that hasn't even been thoroughly analyzed."

"If we had delayed for another week, the cost of the blockade might have been equal to the cooperation fee we originally paid to the Radiant Sect. Of course, it's not bad now, since we just offered compensation."

Tristan and Ophelia huddled to the side, turning their heads away, unable to bear the scene before them. They were terrified that the two mages would start fighting and overturn them like a table.

Arthur, his eyes crinkling with wrinkles, forced his eyelids open wide, revealing somewhat cloudy pupils, and turned his head toward Elijah for the first time.

He simply sighed, and then slowly said:

"When you go back and report to them, don't mention me again. I'm getting tired too. Let me spend the last thirty years of my life in peace."

Elijah nodded, his face still bearing that faint smile.

After Fran returned to the Radiance Domain, the Lord of Radiance urgently questioned her in the Divine Temple.

"How did things go?!"

The Lord of Radiance is now particularly worried about whether the Alliance will do anything to His newly established Sect, as this is an opportunity He has finally found.

But He had no choice, since in His current state He was unable to speak face-to-face with the Alliance, because apart from the followers of the Lord of Radiance, no one else present could hear the voice of the Deity.

Therefore, in this matter, He could only rely on Fran to make the decision herself.

Fran raised her head, a complex expression on her face, and slowly said:

"Things went well. Is the Alliance's blockade still in effect?"

"It's still there."

"Then let the Alliance block it. If the Alliance applies to enter, just let me know."

"Anyway, we've already reached an agreement. From now on, only those permitted by the Alliance, as well as Una and I, can enter and exit that area."

The Lord of Radiance paused for a moment, then slowly said:

"Thank you for your hard work, Fran. To be honest, I didn't expect things to turn out this way at all before we started. I don't know what went wrong with the Alliance to make such a move."

"But things still look good, you can go back now."

Fran blinked, watching as the Divine Statue of the Lord of Radiance continued to shine, yet no sound came out.

She took a slight breath and walked out of the Divine Temple.

Although she has already reported what she was supposed to, the Lord of Radiance has still not revealed the key information in this matter.

She had long realized that the Lord of Radiance actually knew what the Alliance was looking for, but even when Fran set off, he didn't mention that thing at all.

The reason for this secrecy was unclear to Fran, but Fran trusted the Lord of Radiance and believed he hadn't lied to her. Generally speaking, this matter shouldn't have led to this outcome.

Otherwise, the Lord of Radiance would have rejected the proposal outright when Fran made it, and she herself was quite hesitant at the time.

Even she hadn't expected the Alliance to go to such lengths.

After stepping out of the Divine Temple, she did not return directly to the Material Realm, but went straight to the Heart Lake Market.

She needed to solve one thing first: the Alliance's tracking problem. She knew that the Alliance used mental fluctuations and physical information to verify whether someone was the person they knew.

Under these criteria, it is almost impossible to hide, because a person's mental fluctuations generally do not change drastically, and physical information refers to characteristics such as blood, breathing rhythm, and skin texture.

With these factors, coupled with the pursuit of prophecies from the Astrology School, it would be almost impossible for anyone to escape.

Coincidentally, although this is also difficult for Fran to change, and may even come at a price, this is the time when change is most needed.