I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

But Amy thought about it again and felt that the idea was too unrealistic.

The Flower Sea Mountains are half a day's journey from the nearest Adventurers' Guild in the kingdom, and it would take at least a week to quickly mobilize enough high-end combat power from the Adventurers' Guild headquarters.

Moreover, the Adventurers' Guild doesn't have many S-rank adventurers to begin with, and with five S-rank adventurers trapped at the same time, it's already considered fast that they were able to assemble a rescue team within a month.

Just then, several more huge fragments of vines were cleaved down from the sky, crashing not far from the camp and kicking up clouds of dust.

Amy pulled Lila's hand and quickly took a few steps back, looking up through the gaps in the constantly writhing vines.

She squinted, adjusted her perspective, and tried to see clearly what the light source was.

Then, the moment she saw it clearly, she gasped in shock, a breath of air devoid of any magical energy.

What is that thing?!

A dark, shimmering mass filled the entire field of vision; it was a gigantic thundercloud brewing a storm.

From Amy's perspective, who holds the title of "Elementalist," this sea of ​​lightning was no ordinary thundercloud.

Those surging shapes, spreading outlines, and dancing arcs of light at the edges resembled some kind of living thing made of pure electrical energy, moving slowly.

It covered the entire sky, and it kept crashing against the vine-covered sky.

"Lila, come closer to me." Amy reached out and pulled Lila behind her, retreating while preparing to fight and using her remaining magic power to release a shield at any moment.

The vines were locked in a stalemate with the sea of ​​lightning.

They heal very quickly, but after each repair, the new vines are thinner than before, and their color gradually changes from dark green to a withered yellow.

This indicates that they are depleting their own reserves.

Just moments before, as the lightning cleaved the vines, she clearly sensed the surrounding magical energy concentration rapidly increasing. However, the vines quickly absorbed that magical energy, much like a dried-up riverbed absorbing water—quickly and thoroughly.

Amy sensed the lingering magical energy in the air and, with a thought, took out her spatial ring to check if it could be opened, but unfortunately, there was no response.

However, the concentration is indeed higher than before.

In the four days she was trapped, she could hardly sense any free magic energy, so this was already a huge surprise.

While at the Royal Capital Magic Academy, she read a book on the energy conduction of magic circles, which mentioned:

"When a certain high-energy substance continuously acts on the structure, the free magic element within the coverage area will be forced to redistribute, and after repeated oscillations, it tends to stabilize."

The current situation is similar to that.

"Lila, do you feel like the air around you is getting heavier?" she asked.

Lila tilted her head back and carefully felt it:

"It's a bit like... the oppressive, suffocating feeling of something that's about to rain in the summer."

"That's right, the concentration of magic essence has increased."

"Isn't it supposed to be thunder and lightning, about to rain?" Lila thought to herself, but the woman in front of her was a professional, so she trusted her to be right.

Amy made a rough estimate:

If the vines continue to fight against the sea of ​​lightning, and their energy continues to be depleted, at the current rate of growth, it will take her about a few days to recover her magic reserves.

If we can cast a forbidden spell and coordinate with that sea of ​​lightning from the inside... we might be able to get out soon.

With that in mind, Amy closed her eyes and began to adjust the magical energy circulation within her body, absorbing as much of the rising magical energy from the outside world as possible.

She looked down at Lila and said, "Lila, do me a favor."

"What kind of help?"

"Tell your parents not to worry too much. Find a secluded spot to hide. I'll come back to you once I've absorbed enough magic energy, then I'll unleash a forbidden spell to break the barrier and leave this place."

Lila nodded vigorously: "Okay!"

……

In the main hall of the palace, the stained-glass windows of the towering dome filtered the scarlet sunlight into an eerie dark red, casting mottled, blood-red shadows on the floor tiles.

The old king stood by the window, his hands behind his back, his aged figure appearing particularly thin against the backdrop of the scarlet sky.

He gazed at the slowly spreading red patch, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he murmured to himself:

"...Has this day finally come?"

A royal guard clad in light armor rushed in from outside the door and knelt down in awe.

"Your Majesty, an urgent report has come from the Hall of Offerings: all thirty-six second-generation fairies offered by the royal family have left, their whereabouts unknown, but all heading towards the western border."

The old king waved his hand:

"As expected. The bloodline of the first generation of fairies was inherently powerless against the World Tree's call; the fact that they've held out this long is a testament to their loyalty."

The guard remained silent, awaiting further instructions.

"Issue my order: close all the gates of the capital city, and no one is allowed to enter or leave. Guards shall withdraw into the inner city, and commoners shall return to their homes and not go out."

"yes!"

"Issue an order to the Council of Government: all noble residences are to immediately seal off all channels of communication with private armies. Anyone who disobeys this order shall be punished as a traitor."

"yes!"

After dismissing everyone, the main hall was empty and silent.

The old king walked alone through the long corridor, proceeding in the darkness with a torch in hand, and stopped at the end before a bronze door sealed off by iron chains.

This door is hidden deep within the palace. The runes on the door frame have faded, but the fine details of the original carvings can still be seen.

The iron chain slipped silently from his fingertips, and the bronze door opened inward, revealing a life-sized plaster statue standing in the center.

Statue of the first king.

The statue's face was blurred, its robes had simple lines, and it stood holding a sword in both hands.

The old king stepped forward, reached out and took the sword, then unsheathed it and slashed at the statue.

"Click—"

The cracks spread outwards from the point of contact, initially as thin as a hair, then gradually deepened and spread, until the entire statue crumbled from the inside out, with plaster fragments falling in a flurry.

The statue is hollow inside.

A piece of amber, about the size of a fist, stood quietly on the base, its interior containing blood that emitted a faint glow.

The blood of the first fairy.

The amber glowed with a dark red hue in the dim light, and the drop of blood seemed to be alive, flowing slowly inside the amber.

The old king held the amber in his palm and turned to walk towards the door.

Half an hour later, a black carriage without any royal insignia drove out of the side gate of the palace and sped off along the official road toward the western border.

The only passenger in the carriage was the old king, dressed in knight's armor, and the coachman was his old servant who had been with him for nearly forty years.

Come to think of it, my eldest son Ian seems to be this old now, and my other children are not young either. Time really flies.

"Your Majesty, where are we going?"

The old king lifted the carriage curtain, gazed at the approaching crimson sky, and said in a deep voice:

"Go to the World Tree."

Upon hearing this, the old attendant fell silent, cracking his whip to urge the horse to go faster.

The wheels rolled over the gravel, raising a cloud of dust, and sped toward the deepest part of that blood-red sky.