Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
—
—
The Sacred Snow Mountain in the Alps…
The mountain resembled a lake of snow, with several buildings emanating warm golden glows amid the blizzard, distributed orderly across the place in a dignified manner.
The blizzard lasted throughout the night. A few servants were walking through the thick snow, holding ancient lamps. They had finished their work for the day after cleaning the halls. It was time for them to return to their warm little huts and light up the furnaces there for a comfortable night’s sleep.
The Holy Judgment Court went to sleep as soon as those old servants went to bed. Not a single patrol was visible, since not many people in the world would dare to stir any trouble here. The Holy Judgment Court was the supreme existence, above the Magic Associations of the Five Continents!
The sound of steady footsteps shuffling was audible after the midnight bell struck. Many Holy Court Mages heard the footsteps, but they were not too concerned about it. Those aged servants always left their belongings behind. It was unnecessary for them to sacrifice their sleep for trivial matters.
The dungeon of the Holy Judgment Court was facing the direction the sun normally set. It was also where the footsteps had stopped.
Deep inside the dungeon was a cell Sealed by seven layers of magic formations. There was no electricity there, and only a few oil lamps were lit. The dim light only reached a short distance away. The cell was shrouded in darkness.
The long corridor was empty, holding only a few rocks at most.
At the end of the corridor was the cell with seven layers of magic Formations around it. The cell wall was made of wooden logs an arm wide. The logs were less than seven centimeters apart, with a simple wooden door, yet despite how simple the cell was, no one had ever escaped from it.
“Who’s there!?” a young voice came from the cell.
Ta! Ta! Ta! A pair of heels tapped rhythmically on the floor. A slim figure was approaching the cell through the long corridor.
The oil lamps only outlined her. The young man in the cell was starting to feel uneasy. He seemed to have recognized the person approaching the cell, but how could she possibly be here? He was in the dungeon of the Holy Judgment Court, the exact place everyone in the world wanted to lock that person in.
1
But she had come to the place on her own instead, strolling in so casually. Even the Cold Prince felt like yelling at the top of his lungs, ready to tell the Holy Court Mages that the scariest Red Cardinal was right in their territory. Hurry up and catch her!
“You don’t seem to be happy to see me?” The woman in heels grabbed a wooden stool nearby that the Holy Court Mages usually sat on while interrogating the prisoner in the cell. She crossed her legs and leaned backward, the picture of relaxation.
“I don’t think you’re here to save me. Your subordinate killed my most beloved woman!” the Cold Prince snarled.
“Blue Bat is one of the disciples I’m very proud of,” Salan agreed.
“How did you get in here? This is the Holy Judgment Court!” the Cold Prince could not help but ask.
The Cold Prince did have a little glimpse of hope in his heart. If the Red Cardinal could sneak into the dungeon of the Holy Judgment Court like a phantom, didn’t that also mean she could help him escape!?
“The maid serving Herr Casa happens to be one of mine, too. The Holy Judgment Court coincidentally left her here,” Salan informed him.
“Humph, is there any limit to your boldness?” the Cold Prince snorted.
“Who’s the Supreme Pontiff?” Salan asked.
“Do you think I’m going to tell you?” the Cold Prince chuckled.
“In return, I’ll rescue you from this place,” Salan seemed to have come prepared.
The Cold Prince’s eyes glittered. As he thought, Salan was capable of getting him out of this place!
The Cold Prince felt like he was going mad after being interrogated every day by the Holy Court Mages, who had almost lost all their teeth from age. He would rather die or leave this place!
“Can you really get me out of here?” the Cold Prince blurted out excitedly.
“I need the Supreme Pontiff’s name,” Salan repeated.
“I don’t know his name, but I have a way to find it out. I’ll give you the name if you can get me out of here. Salan, if you really want to know who the Supreme Pontiff is, you must save me from this place. I’m the only one that can help you find who the Supreme Pontiff is!” the Cold Prince said.
Salan smiled. “I know that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. Wait a few more days; you’ll see the sunlight again soon.”
—
—
Mo Fan held onto the mysterious crystal and returned to the Pearl Institute with the rest of the students.
Mo Fan was just about to leave to bring the crystal to Lingling and have her inspect it when someone started banging on his door.
Mo Fan opened the door and saw Zhao Manyan standing outside.
“Where the hell have you been!?” Zhao Manyan snapped.
“It’s hard to explain. What is it?” Mo Fan asked blandly.
“Something serious! Haven’t you heard about the serious incident that happened!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.
“Oh, I was deep in the mountains. So, what exactly happened? Was there a new Forbidden Mage, or did a Forbidden Mage pass away? Let’s hope the Heavens are a better place than our world,” Mo Fan raised his brows cluelessly.
“Oh my, you really are clueless! It was a Red Cardinal, a Red Cardinal was caught!” Zhao Manyan blurted out.
“Salan?” Mo Fan was startled.
“It’s not Salan. It was a Red Cardinal in South America. The Red Cardinal was caught by the Holy Court Mages in Brazil and escorted to the Holy Judgment Court. Mo Fan, you’ve seriously done the whole world a favor!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.
“Me? What does it have anything to do with me? I only caught the Cold Prince. How am I related to the Red Cardinal in Brazil?” Mo Fan was confused.
“Are you stupid? The Holy Judgment Court never caught a Red Cardinal after so many years, but they caught another one not long after you caught the Cold Prince. They must have gotten some useful information from the Cold Prince to track down the Red Cardinal in Brazil. You might not know this, but the Red Cardinal in Brazil is a maniac, too. The infamous Cursed Rainforest in Brazil was his doing!” Zhao Manyan told him.
“The Cursed Rainforest? I think we heard something like that when we were in Brazil. Wasn’t it a maze forest?” Mo Fan had to ask.
“Exactly! Around thirteen years ago, there was a primitive tribe in the Amazon Jungle called the Mikaels. When the safe zone shrank due to the invasion of the demon creatures, the government requested the Mikaels move down the Amazon River. It was quite a huge relocation in Brazil during that time, but when they passed by some rainforest, they ended up inside a Cursed Formation. Everyone that was part of the relocation died in the rainforest!
“Since then, the infamous name of the Red Cardinal responsible for it, Asura, had spread across South America. Even now, tormented spirits are still roaming the rainforest. They won’t leave for at least another thirty years!”