The Army Approaches

"Once we cross this forest, we'll reach Gainsborough, but before that…"

Standing beside Boundary River, Clark looked in the direction of the Forest of Slumber and a joyous smile spread across his face.

"It's time to retrieve what belongs to me."

Under Clark's control, all the monsters closed their eyes and laid down to rest.

Clark on the other hand, walked towards the other side of the river with his back facing the Forest of Slumber.

His target was the Forest of Awakening, which was several times more dangerous than the Forest of Slumber.

As soon as he entered, Clark felt his presence being locked onto by several entities.

Clark chuckled when he felt the gazes on him.

"Hohoho. These monsters sure grew up well. After rearing you lot for so long, it's time for you to serve me."

As soon as he finished speaking, scarlet energy surged from Clark's body and spread out in all directions.

——————————————————-

Divine Temple Gainsborough Branch

Under Vanessa's lead, George and Celia entered the Divine Temple for the first time.

They knew very little about the Divine Temple. They only knew that it was humanity's largest force on this continent.

Arriving at a conference room, the attendants of the Divine Temple served them snacks and tea and made themselves scarce.

"Please make yourselves at home."

Vanessa sat down across George and Celia. She held out her hand and gestured for them to relax.

Beside him, Clayton stood against the wall, faithfully executing his duties as her Guardian.

Since the host had said so, George and Celia relaxed a little.

George picked up his teacup and eyed the tea within. The light-red liquor emitted a rich but non-pungent fragrance.

He felt refreshed just from smelling it.

The most important thing was that George could feel magic in the tea.

This was clearly a high-grade product brewed using potions and likely had special effects.

Since most of their money was spent on food, this was the first time George and Celia had come into contact with such high-grade goods.

George brought the tea to his mouth, and as the light-red liquid flowed into his body, the magic within dispersed itself in his body. It left him feeling rejuvenated.

The more energy something contained, the more it would help to alleviate his hunger.

After drinking the tea, George was surprised to find that this one cup of tea was almost as effective as the seven wolves he had eaten in the Forest of Slumber.

"This is an alchemic tea that has the effect of lifting one's spirit. I like to drink it in the afternoon,"

Vanessa shared enthusiastically, seemingly pleased with George's reaction.

"If you like it, I'll get someone to send you some when we get back."

"There's no need for that." George shook his head in response.

Although it was effective, it wasn't enough to bribe George.

"Let's get down to business."

George didn't plan on participating in the upcoming discussion.

After the short exchange earlier, he could tell that of all the people in this room, he had the least understanding of the situation.

Therefore, there was no need for him to speak.

After hearing George's words, Vanessa cut to the chase.

"Let's start from the Apostle of the Devil. An apostle of the Devil is also commonly known as the Apostle of the Demon God.

"The power of the Apostles depends on the strength of who they serve. The Apostles of powerful devils can be even stronger than the average devil."

After a brief introduction, Vanessa said to them,

"So, I was wondering if the two of you could provide more information about the Apostles?"

Even though she said that, most of Vanessa's attention was focused on Celia.

George had no intention of participating in this discussion, she got that much.

On the other side, upon sensing Vanessa's gaze, Celia didn't rush to answer. Instead, she reached out for her teacher in her mindscape.

"How is it, master? Do you know anything?"

"What do you take me for? In my current state, being able to sense them is my limit. Unless the other party appears in front of me, I won't know anything else."

Dionmya answered Celia in a slightly disgruntled tone. She was second-guessing her decision to save Celia.

Ever since she saved Celia, apart from the initial gratitude, the young mage only ever contacted her when she needed something.

What did Celia take her for?

Celia, who didn't know the internal dialogue happening in Dionmya's head, responded with a cool,

"I see."

Right then, Dionmya's agitated voice rang inside her head.

"Did you just say that I'm really useless?"

"No, I didn't say anything."

Stunned, Celia quickly cast away all stray thoughts in her mind. She had almost forgotten that her teacher was currently residing in her consciousness,and could easily deduce her thoughts.

It was like the woman could read her mind.

"At least show me some respect. I'm your teacher, after all."

"Yes yes. You have my utmost respect, master, and I am very grateful to you for saving my life."

These were Celia's heartfelt feelings.

However, just like how Dionmya was starting to nitpick on Celia, Celia also held some small grudges against Dionmya.

"That aside master, why do I feel like you're becoming more immature? You don't feel like someone who's lived for a thousand years or more."

Celia did not forget what happened at Volcano Giant.

She still remembered Dionmya's sudden tantrum and how she ignored her.

It could only be said that both sides lacked communication.

It was unclear what Dionmya thought about the things Celia was referring to. After a moment of silence, Dionmya replied,

"…We can talk about that another time. There are a lot of things involved. It's pointless to talk about them now."

"Oh." Celia was surprised and confused by Dionmya's response as she couldn't figure out how the two matters were connected.

However, since Dionmya had put it that way, she tactfully stopped talking about it.

It was so unfair. Dionmya could read her mind, but she couldn't read hers.

After some internal grumbling, Celia quickly returned to normal.

Since Dionmya knew nothing, Selia wouldn't pretend to know either. She answered truthfully,

"I'm sorry, but we only know so much. Sorry we can't be of more help."

"It's fine. This is all within my expectations."

George and Celia looked at each other in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Vanessa smiled, but she showed no intention of answering their question.