Return Without Success

"Second Seat Charles, we're back."

This is a large conference room within the Law Domain, accessible only to members of the Alliance.

Charles tapped on the polished long table, his gaze sweeping over the mages who had just ventured into the inner realm to perform divinations.

In order to obtain more prophetic information, Charles proposed at the Alliance Council to organize a new group of Astrology School mages to go to the ' Ancient ' realm to make prophecies again.

Although many lawmakers expressed their opposition, the proposal was ultimately passed.

But when Charles looked at the returning mages, he knew that it seemed the dozen or so mages sent out had not received good news.

"Is there any news that doesn't overlap with last time...? You probably don't know what was predicted last time, so let me put it another way..."

Charles considered his words carefully, and then continued:

"So, did you get any useful information?"

Only three mages raised their hands, which made the veins on Charles's forehead bulge, but he still didn't react.

"Others will write down the information they have predicted, and this will be submitted to the Alliance Council for review by the members."

"All mages who participated in the prophecy will henceforth be subject to the Alliance's secret protection regulations... The Alliance will not forget your contributions."

Charles continued tapping on the table, swallowed hard, and waited for the other mages to leave the meeting room.

"You go first."

A tall, imposing monk stepped forward and slowly said:

"The prophecy I received was that 'that thing will spend most of its time at sea.'"

"They didn't explicitly say we were looking for something, and it might be something of some importance, but not enough to cause the Alliance significant losses... Write it down, and you can leave now..."

The tall, imposing monk sighed and left the meeting room.

The next mage stepped forward without waiting for Charles to continue.

"The information I received is that 'it will conform to the sacred object described by the God of War.'"

"The artifact of the God of War either causes conflict simply by its existence, or possessing it grants the power to annihilate most enemies... This information is valuable, especially given the attention so many Order individuals are paying to it..."

"To receive such a high evaluation... that's good news. Go down now, the Alliance will reward you."

The mage grinned and turned around. Now, although he could receive a reward from the Alliance for making a prophecy, the better the prophecy, the greater the reward.

"Next."

The last mage was dressed in a thick black robe, with a hood covering his face so that Charles could not see his features.

The monk stepped forward and said something that almost made Charles jump out of his chair.

"Charles of the Astrology School will dissolve the Great Alliance Council."

Charles looked up abruptly, the spell in his hand solidifying instantly. Had this not been the Law Domain, his spell might have been thrown out.

"Elijah, you still have the mind to have fun at a time like this..."

After calming down a bit, Charles realized that this was not a prophecy at all, but a complete hoax orchestrated by someone.

"If you want to find me, you can just go through the proper channels. Why infiltrate these prophetic groups?"

Elijah removed his hood and pulled it behind his head, then slowly said:

"Who made some people in the Council uneasy about this investigation? Some believe that you sent these Astrology School mages in to destroy the ' Ancient ' realm, preventing us from obtaining information."

Charles fell silent, because Elijah's reasoning was so absurd, yet Charles also knew that upon closer examination, it could actually make sense.

Although none of them in the Alliance Council wanted the Alliance to disintegrate, as it would infringe upon the interests of all mages, especially High-Order Mage like themselves.

However, everyone has different opinions on how to approach this matter.

In fact, Charles's plan was already quite mild: send a team of divination mages up to obtain new information.

Some Council even considered bringing up all the mages from the Astrology School, and if possible, also bringing up apprentices with Prophecy Spell Talent.

A saturation-based prediction would presumably yield a wealth of information to support the Alliance's decision-making.

However, it was clear that this proposal was rejected almost immediately, not only by others but also by Charles himself.

If they really did that, how would they keep the information confidential? And with so many mages being sent up there, the Astrology School might disintegrate in just one day.

Therefore, this plan would certainly not pass. The problem lies with Charles's own plan. Although it received majority support, a minority still felt it was not prudent.

The Alliance's Council mages possess the most outstanding mobility among the major rulers of all political systems on the continent.

Dissatisfied with Charles's plan, they naturally took immediate action. This is typical of mages: discussion is everyone's business, but what I do is my own business.

"You didn't do anything unnecessary, did you?"

"No, don't worry, I was sent in by a Legendary... I just checked on the mages stationed there and whether these returning prophecy mages had done anything underhanded."

"Fortunately, nothing unusual happened before I returned. As for the mages stationed there, I can only trust the Alliance's investigation."

Elijah said with a smile:

"However, although we returned unscathed and without any losses,... we haven't made any progress either, have we?"

"Yes."

Charles looked somewhat dejected, even though he had suspected the outcome wouldn't be good before the group of prophetic mages set off.

But when the reality actually unfolded before his eyes, he couldn't help feeling somewhat disappointed.

"Let's not talk about that... Elijah, will you still support the next time a prophetic mage enters the realm?"

Elijah placed his hands on the pristine white table and slowly said:

"Next time, I will naturally support it, after all, it's one of the few things our the Alliance can still do right now..."

"However, if there's still no crucial information after the very next time, I won't support it."

"I think you also know that Vernon's Ocean strategy has already received a lot of support from members of Congress behind the scenes."

"He wants to seize a large portion of the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents's territory, narrowing down the possible area, which will require a lot of resources. The Council may no longer invest in this area."

Charles paused for a moment, then continued:

"What Vernon is doing is indeed in the interest of the Alliance, and I will vote for him then..."

"However, I still believe that we might be able to obtain more information in this realm... We'd need at least three more times..."

Elijah shrugged and said slowly:

"Twice is fine, but three times will require you to produce some results..."

"That's acceptable..."

Charles cleared his throat and said finally:

"Let's continue this discussion in Council. Now... Elijah, I'd like to ask you to leave..."

"Okay, okay... wait for me a moment."

The night in Moon Maple Territory was peaceful, free from the disturbances of war. Even the usually anxious Lords Reed and Darian chose to rest at this time.

Above the lord's castle, a large, black shadow slowly appeared—it was Sean.

After receiving a clue that Darian might have something he wanted, he rushed to Moon Maple Territory.

Although Darian never revealed his location to the people back home, Sean learned of Darian's true location through several simple prophecies.

Sean landed on the balcony without bothering to conceal his footsteps and headed into the castle. He held a blue Magic Scroll in his hand, and after he used it, the already silent castle became even more completely silent.

This was just a scroll of [Mass Sleep Spell], and with Sean's own powerful Mental Power, when it was released, even those First Order Profession couldn't resist it.

Through a brief prophecy, he arrived at Darian's room, and as soon as he entered, he saw the Divine Statue of the Lord of Shadows on the small table in the room.

This piqued Sean's curiosity. The Shadow Cult had only emerged in recent years, and there was almost no record of it in books. So, although Sean knew that the Sect existed, he hadn't paid much attention to it.

"Darian is also a follower of the Lord of Shadows ..."

Sean kept this information in mind, then looked at Darian lying on the bed. Darian was usually a light sleeper, but under the effect of the spell, Darian had now fallen into a deep sleep.

Sean used Prophecy Spell on Darian several times, but the results made him frown.

He knew that his initial prophecy was about his deceased son, so he asked Darian what was related to his son.

The Prophecy Spell returned a long string of information, all about the deals his son and Darian had made, and Darian's assessment of Connor, among other things.

Despite the abundance of information, Sean found none of it. He tried to find some clues, but there was nothing, not even a thread to grasp.

Sean then changed tactics, asking Darian questions such as "What's going to happen to Darian?" and "How is it related to Sean?"

He gained nothing until Sean turned around and saw the standing Divine Statue. He cast a Prophecy Spell slightly towards the Divine Statue, and the answer he received made him ecstatic.

"The person who toppled this Divine Statue is connected to what Master Sean is looking for."

"The Divine Statue... could mean physically knocking it down, or it could mean abolishing the faith in the Lord of Shadows."

Sean guessed.

But no matter what, he finally found a viable lead.

But at that moment, Sean sensed a slight movement, which was abnormal. Logically, after he used that spell scroll, no one in the castle should wake up for at least twelve hours.

"No, it's the people outside the castle."