After the consciousness connected, the throbbing pain spreading throughout his body followed.

However, for Silence, this was already commonplace—fighting to the death on the battlefield against the tide of enemies, then waking up from the Ephemeral Pool, was how it had always lived. Each time it approached its limit, it became stronger, and the price of pain was nothing to it.

But this time was different...

It stared blankly at the rolling ephemera in front of it, its mind still replaying the wisp of sensation it felt the moment it woke up.

Was it an illusion?

Just now, ripples appeared in the realm of consciousness.

If it hadn't been located at the bottom of the Tower of Creation and in a half-dreaming, half-awakened state of recovery, it would have been difficult to detect this subtle change.

Similar ripples were rare. The last time they were triggered, it was by Ersluk, a talented general of the clan.

That meant... the fall of a High Lord.

What exactly happened in the north?

Was its perception wrong, or was the ripple purely coincidental?

No, it had to find Nasoper to confirm. And to ask how long it had been unconscious, and how the Western Front was progressing.

Silence of Disaster endured the pain and climbed out of the Ephemeral Pool, slowing its pace as it passed Vakiris—although the Lord of the Sky believed that placing the Nightmare High Lord's body in Sky City was equally safe, it insisted on bringing it aboard the God-Forged. There were indeed safety factors to consider, but more for another reason.

That way, as long as it wasn't on the battlefield, it could always stay by her side.

"Don't worry, I will bring you his head."

Silence whispered.

It had deeply memorized the appearance of the human male who appeared in the Domain of the Gods.

This person was undoubtedly the culprit who caused the Nightmare to lose its consciousness.

Only by personally killing this person could Vakiris find true peace.

...

In the experimental field, Silence of Disaster found the Masked Nasoper.

"Recovering quite quickly," the latter clicked its tongue in wonder. "This recovery speed is rare even among the High Lords... I'm sometimes really curious, if you and the Symbiote were fused together, what kind of monster would it create."

"..." Silence didn't want to bother with such nonsense. "How long was I in the Ephemeral Pool?"

"Less than a week. The God-Forged has already entered the territory of the Kingdom of Dawn. You didn't even see the spears, yet their cities collapsed." Nasoper let out a sinister laugh. "Fire, trampling, screams, panic... This is how insects should be!"

"Has Hexozod contacted you recently?"

"Didn't it say it wanted to personally inspect the Cloud Sea Road to improve the transport efficiency of the Continental Spine? I don't think it would actively report to me." Masked shook its towering head. "Honestly, that's what it should be doing. The position of Western Commander is simply not suitable for it. The King didn't want the strength of the main battlefield to be greatly reduced, so the Lord of the Sky was put in charge of the Western Front. In the end, I, Nasoper, still have to clean up the mess?"

Silence's heart sank slightly.

Less than a week, plus the days it departed before falling unconscious, that was more than two weeks—even though the Continental Spine was quite far from here, for Hexozod, that much time was enough for it to traverse the Spine Mountains two or three times.

Its combat abilities were not outstanding, and in the past six months, many outposts had observed an increasing number of evil beasts in the sea. It was not impossible for the Sky-Sea Realm to attack the connection point between the two continents from the rear. Could it be...

"Come with me to the Tower of Creation," Silence of Disaster no longer hesitated. "I want to see the King."

Its injuries had not yet healed, and it needed the power of the God-Forged controller to connect with the King's consciousness at this distance.

At this moment, Nasoper also noticed something was wrong. "What happened?"

"Ripples appeared in the realm of consciousness," Silence said bluntly.

"Uh... you know I'm not good at that ethereal stuff."

"That's why we need to contact the King. If it's not an illusion, the King will certainly understand the meaning of that ripple better than I do," Silence replied.

At the top of the Tower of Creation, Nasoper placed its hand on the tower, concentrating its energy to gather magic—the talents of the High Lords were different. Some, like Vakiris, were good at sneaking into the depths of the realm of consciousness alone, while others, like the Masked, were dull like blind people, and could hardly communicate with the realm of consciousness without the help of the Tower of Creation.

Silence waited patiently for a while, but never heard a reply.

"What's wrong?" It couldn't help frowning. "Not ready yet?"

If it weren't for the faint sense of anxiety in its heart, it would never have asked so many questions.

However, Nasoper turned around, its tone extremely surprised.

"It's gone..."

"What's gone?"

"The Sovereign Throne—I can't find the King's trace."

Silence couldn't help but freeze.

The King was the central hub of the entire clan, and its throne was like a lighthouse on a vast sea. Now the beacon had disappeared, meaning they had temporarily lost the ability to contact the Black Stone Domain.

Of course, the King could never fall, otherwise the strong ripples caused would be felt by all magic wielders.

The only problem was, what kind of change had occurred that caused the King to close the realm of consciousness?

Obviously, it wouldn't be able to find the answer until the throne reappeared.

...

Kingdom of Dawn, Glow City Castle.

"That's the God-Forged..." Roland stood at the top of the castle, looking at the shadow slowly moving in the sky, and said softly.

Although he had expected it, he was still genuinely shocked when he saw it with his own eyes for the first time.

This was not a special effect on a movie screen, but a real thing—a floating land that could accommodate both Neverwinter City and Longsong Stronghold, perfectly following the principle that bigger is better, and just looking at it from a distance made one's heart swell. If steel frames and steam pipes were put on the black rock outer surface, it would simply be the creation of dreams.

No wonder the Devil high command had so much confidence in it.

Nightingale leaned closer to him, looking highly vigilant.

"Don't worry," Roland said helplessly. "If we just observe from a distance, we won't encounter any danger."

"Unfamiliar territory itself means risk," Nightingale said grumpily. "I can check every stranger entering and leaving Neverwinter Castle, but I can't search every noble in the capital of Dawn. Why did you have to come to the front line?"

"Because the development of the situation no longer allows me to stay in the safe Western Region," Roland shook his head. The First Army's first defeat, the God-Forged's sudden turn to the Hermes Plateau, and the outbreak of a plague-like panic in neighboring countries, all these constantly returning messages made him determined. Whether it was to boost the morale of the First Army or to stabilize the confidence of the Dawn allies, he needed to stand up—in any era and any civilization, this move was the most direct and effective way to inspire.

Then he looked at Hoford Quinn. "Your officials and ministers should have arrived?"

"They are waiting in the conference hall."

"Very good, let's talk about... what to do next."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," the Lord of Dawn said frankly, placing his hand on his chest.