Chapter 1 Two Bright Pearls

Perhaps truly blessed by a goddess, the Kingdom of Taros witnessed the birth of two exceptionally talented pearls during its darkest years. The First Princess, Veronica, had become the foremost swordswoman in the royal family before adulthood, possessing battlefield command talents even General Geroen had to praise. The Second Princess, Anya, was renowned for her intelligence. Though not skilled in swordsmanship or military strategy, she had read all the books in the royal library before the age of fourteen and possessed exceptional magical talent. Compared to these two Taros pearls, the kingdom's only prince, Andrew, seemed dim and unremarkable, the unremarkable little prince barely having a presence in the public eye.

Yet, Rudolph III felt his two daughters, whom he should have been proud of, were the greatest sorrow of the kingdom. Such unparalleled talent, capable of shining brightly in any era, would have to face the tides of Chaos of Coro early on. Faced with this disaster that treated all beings equally, even pearls might not last long. Young people with extraordinary talent were often swallowed by darkness before they could grow up.

Veronica had already become the first victim. When he looked at Anya, he couldn't help but think of that.

"One at a time, my daughter," Rudolph III said, pressing his hand to his forehead, his tone weary. "Even unconfirmed rumors that catch your attention are likely not so simple."

"Very well, Father," Princess Anya slightly bowed. "First, regarding observations of the Chaos Frontier—the astrologers of the Tower of Mysteries gazed upon the dark boundary during the last Starless Night. They observed a massive shadow vortex gradually forming on the border, its radius extending from the Beacon Country to the Shadow Jungle, almost spanning half the continent of Ansu. This is already the seventh year of the Chaos Tide. According to past patterns, the tides of the Sea of Carnos will begin to wane within the last two months of this year, but the appearance of that shadow vortex... seems to defy this pattern."

"The Sea of Carnos is in constant turmoil, and the boundary between Order and Chaos is not easily defined," Duke Luen suddenly interjected, his voice so calm it was almost devoid of emotion. "What is recorded in the history books is only a fragmented observation of the Chaos World by mortals and cannot be treated as golden rules. Moreover, the shadow vortex is merely a byproduct of the power of Chaos, not Chaos itself. Its rise and fall cannot be used to determine the strength of the Chaos Tide."

Anya's words were interrupted by Duke Luen, but she did not show any displeasure on her face. Rudolph III nodded slightly. "Duke Luen's words also make sense. It is better to let the scholars study these matters carefully before drawing conclusions... Hmph, in any case, those Holy Domain people will certainly be more concerned about the changes at the Chaos Frontier, and they will always take action."

Anya nodded and continued, "There are also some reports regarding the outer defense line of the Shadow Jungle. After my sister... disappeared, the outposts in the Shadow Jungle almost completely lost contact overnight. Subsequently, the Western Fortress reported continuous attacks, making investigation of the outer defense line difficult. Currently, only one thing can be determined: we are suffering some new form of attack. It is highly probable that a new form of demon has been bred in the Chaos, and they are extremely lethal to small brazier outposts."

Rudolph III's hand remained pressed against his forehead, his face seemingly several years older. "Magus is also getting old..."

"The Western General has at least stopped the monsters from continuing their attack into the country. The fortress still stands tall among the mountains. The changes in the Shadow Jungle are a mystery to everyone. Even our royal scholars cannot see through what has happened in the shadows. The responsibility for this matter cannot be entirely blamed on Magus—if we must speak of responsibility, the Tower of Mysteries and the Royal Sorcerer's Association bear greater responsibility. Their duty is to see through the changes in Chaos, yet they failed to make timely warnings."

Anya's words caused General Geroen, who was standing to the side, to nod slightly. The kingdom's war general was very close to the Western General Magus, and he also knew that the defeat in the western war had put the legendary old general in a very unfavorable situation. However, as a soldier, he couldn't bear the wanton evaluation of the border soldiers by those verbose aristocratic analysts in the court.

Compared to those "good-for-nothing" nobles, Princess Anya was obviously more appreciated and valued by the general.

"I know Magus's difficulties and achievements. Rest assured, your father is not yet senile; I still have that much judgment," Rudolph III waved his hand, the expression on his face becoming more relaxed. "You mentioned something happening on the floating islands in the Southern Territory? Are those magical beasts also affected by the Chaos Tide?"

Magical beasts are different from demons—in the world of Coro, the monsters bred from Chaos and the corrupted demons born from Chaos's erosion are collectively called demons, but magical beasts are normal creatures that originally existed in this world. Although they have always had conflicts with the human world, they are also part of the normal ecology of this world. Magical beasts include those powerful, original creatures that possess magical powers, as well as those "subspecies" that have mutated in magical environments, thus gaining basic intelligence and evolution. The magical beasts on the floating islands in the Southern Territory of the kingdom are mostly of the second type.

The kingdoms of the orderly world have always disdained dealing too much with those subspecies that live outside the civilized world. Although some scholars believe that subspecies also have their social structures and even cultural systems, they also admit that the intelligence of subspecies cannot be compared with that of higher humanoid races. Therefore, the ruling class of Taros has never paid much attention to the magical beast groups on the floating islands in the southern part of the kingdom.

Rudolph III was very curious about what kind of trouble those "low-intelligence races" on the floating islands had caused, so much so that even the royal scholars, who were always reclusive, paid attention to them.

"Telepathic witches saw that the subspecies tribes that had been constantly fighting suddenly stopped their infighting. It seems that a powerful leader appeared among them, integrating all the races. The latest news from the Tower of Mysteries is that those tribes are cutting down trees to create some kind of large... device. It is initially suspected to be some kind of giant transportation tool. In addition, several days ago, the witches also observed an old blue magic whale swimming from the direction of the Eternal Winter Country, seemingly to rest on the largest floating island in the Southern Territory, but it has not been seen ascending again since then—my mentor suspects that this incident is also related to the strange activities of those subspecies."

"Blue magic whale?" Rudolph III had no reaction when he heard about the various movements of the subspecies, but his expression finally changed when he heard about the blue magic whale. "Based on those subspecies who have just evolved from beasts, they can keep a blue magic whale?"

"It may not necessarily be their doing. After all, the floating islands float in the outer sky, and we can only use magic to observe the situation on the islands, but what is certain is that a blue magic whale has indeed disappeared on that island."

Duke Luen also became interested in this topic. The gaunt man stepped forward, gently twirling his treasured mustache with one hand. "What else did the masters of the Tower of Mysteries discover? Do they know who integrated those beasts?"

"Duke Luen, subspecies are not the same as beasts," Anya glanced at Duke Luen before continuing. "The witches used black magic and successfully captured a soul on that floating island across the Sea of Carnos. That soul's chaotic memory constantly repeated a title—Head Wolf. This Head Wolf should be their new leader. That soul showed great fear and reverence when mentioning this word."

"Head Wolf..." Geroen frowned, the scar on his face appearing even more ferocious. "Sounds like a beast's title. Perhaps a gnoll? Or a magic wolf?"

"Gnolls have always had a low status among the subspecies. Their innate qualities are very low, and it is difficult for them to produce any decent leaders," Princess Anya shook her head. "Magic wolves do have strong power and are powerful predators among the subspecies, but their intelligence is only moderate, and it is also unlikely that they will become the overall leader of several tribes. Compared to these two, scholars are more willing to believe that 'Head Wolf' is just an honorary title, unrelated to race, a title of respect given by those integrated subspecies to a certain powerful figure to show their submission."

"Your Majesty, this matter should be watched," Duke Luen bowed slightly to Rudolph III. "The sudden gathering of magical beast groups has never been a good thing throughout history. Although they are all a rabble, beasts are naturally physically stronger than humans. Now that the kingdom's defenses are empty, we should take precautions as soon as possible."

"Subspecies, do they really think they can attack a country," Rudolph III grunted. "However, appropriate precautions are indeed necessary. Their looting would also be a huge loss for the current kingdom. Geroen, I'll leave this matter to you—appropriately increase the defense of the border cities in the Southern Territory. The western war is currently tight, and it is not appropriate to transfer too many troops."

After the kingdom's two important ministers left, the room became quiet again.

Rudolph III sat in the back chair, his brows seemingly piled with clouds that would never dissipate. After a long time, he lightly sighed, "Anya, open the window."

The young princess nodded and walked to the side to open the window.

The bright sunlight shone into the room, the sun "Ulo," which brought light to the world of Coro, having just reached the atrium of the sky. In this room on the top floor of the Golden Rose Palace, one could easily overlook almost the entire scenery of White City. The ancient city stretched out on the plain, bright and radiant, a pure white.

Above the city, the clear sky was cloudless, only at the far end of the horizon could one see the sky darkening, a circle of dark halos shrouded the sky, the projection of the dark side of the Sea of Carnos in the sky.

"After Chaos, there are magical beasts," Rudolph III looked at the clear sky outside, his face filled with dark clouds. "What exactly is happening to this world..."