Next, the group prepared to visit the small kingdom Leona had mentioned.
As they flew, Leona explained, “That small kingdom is called the 【Eros】 Kingdom. During past explorations, our All Souls Magic Academy has interacted with them and established a preliminary friendly relationship.”
“Their strongest powerhouse is a Two-star Saint-tier, but you mustn't underestimate them. Do not act arrogant when you get there, understood?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Soon, they arrived at the Eros Kingdom.
Just as Leona had said, it was a small kingdom. Its land area was probably not even a tenth of that mysterious ruin.
However, it was full of otherworldly flair.
Their national flag was quite magical, featuring a magical beast called the Blue Water Penguin. There was a flag on each side of the city gate, both inscribed with profound runes.
Through the system's translation, Zhang Ye understood their meaning.
The left was 【9223】.
And the right was 【41858】.
He had no idea what that was supposed to mean...
Moreover, they seemed to love the color blue. The city walls were blue, the soldiers' armor was made of blue metal, and even the residents' clothing was mostly dominated by blue.
Therefore, as soon as the group arrived wearing their All Souls Magic Academy uniforms, they immediately stood out like fireflies in the dark, drawing everyone's attention.
A man who looked like a soldier captain walked over, expressed his country's respects to the group, and then asked.
“Excuse me, are you all from the All Souls Magic Academy?”
His language was not the common language of their original world's continent, and the group could only make out the words "All Souls."
However, Leona was clearly prepared. She stepped forward and replied in the same language as the captain, “Yes, we are from the All Souls Magic Academy.”
“I am Leona, their leading mentor.”
Her pronunciation might not have been perfect, but communication was not an issue at all.
The captain was clearly stunned by Leona's beauty. He dazed out for a good while before addressing her with an even more respectful expression, “Welcome, esteemed powerhouses!”
“Our great King has been looking forward to deeper interactions with the All Souls Magic Academy!”
“Please make your way to the waiting hall while I report to His Majesty the King.”
“His Majesty will surely be delighted to know you have arrived!”
Leona nodded, and everyone followed the captain to the waiting hall.
This waiting hall was different from other waiting areas; it appeared highly elegant and magnificent, clearly reserved for distinguished guests.
The captain then left to report.
Everyone immediately started chatting.
“Mentor Leona, is the language you spoke unique to this kingdom?” Lina asked.
Leona shook her head. “No, that is the common language of this continent in this world.”
“This continent?” Zhang Ye noticed the detail in Leona's words and asked, “Meaning there are other continents?”
“Of course,” Leona nodded. “This is a complete world, unlike other secret realms.”
“This world is similar to ours, with several continents and vast oceans.”
Hearing this, everyone marveled.
No wonder the Realm Bridge Secret Realm was so special.
“When exploring other worlds, learning the language is crucial. If you want to continue exploring this world after we return, you can learn it too.”
Everyone nodded. They clearly possessed a strong interest in this otherworldly realm.
Zhang Ye, however, thought to himself—With translation, no worries~
Suddenly, Leona stood up and looked out the door, clearly sensing someone approaching. Everyone else immediately stood up as well.
Before long, the doors opened, and a middle-aged man dressed in magnificent robes entered the hall, surrounded by an entourage.
Among them, a mage holding a staff and wearing a blue magic robe was particularly eye-catching.
“Welcome, friends, to our Eros Kingdom!” the King greeted warmly as soon as he arrived.
Through his analysis, Zhang Ye knew that this King was named "Silbaz," and he was a Newly Advanced One-star Saint-tier.
The mage in the blue robe was named Fridli, a Two-star Saint-tier Peak. He was likely the "strongest powerhouse in the kingdom" Leona had mentioned.
“Greetings,” Leona nodded slightly, without showing too much deference.
This King was probably not the one recorded in their files. After all, the secret realm opened once every thirty years, which meant ninety years had passed in this world. Ninety years was more than enough time for many things to change.
“Powerhouses from afar, you have arrived at the perfect time!” The King didn't mind her attitude. Instead, his face was filled with excitement, which left everyone somewhat puzzled.
“Did you feel the Great Earthquake yesterday?” the King asked before anyone could query.
Leona nodded. “We felt it.”
“This is... an omen of great disaster!” the King sighed.
Zhang Ye raised an eyebrow. Why did this King feel a bit like a charlatan?
“Powerhouses of the All Souls Magic Academy, I need your help!” A solemn expression appeared on the King's face. “To be precise, my kingdom needs your help!”
Leona frowned slightly and asked, “Why?”
There were two meanings behind her "why."
First, what on earth happened that made you so urgent that you ask for our help before even hosting us?
Second, why should we help you?
Although the two sides had established a preliminary friendship through initial exchanges, that friendship was built a long time ago. Now that ninety years had passed, the King might not be the original King, and the visitors from All Souls were not the original visitors. Whether this friendship could be maintained was still a question.
She couldn't even rule out the possibility of a conspiracy, so Leona was very cautious.
The King had his reasons for being king, of course. He caught the underlying meaning in Leona's words and sighed once more.
“Please follow me to the palace first. We will entertain you with our highest etiquette.”
Leona nodded, and everyone went to the palace together.
Palace was also magnificent and filled with luxury, but compared to the All Souls Magic Academy, its scale seemed rather small.
Sure enough, the King had them treated with the highest etiquette. Everything was the best the kingdom had to offer, and they even dined with the King himself. From this, it was clear that the King was sincere.
After enjoying the feast, Leona looked at the King, who hadn't eaten much but had been drinking cup after cup of wine.
“What exactly happened?” she asked.
“Sigh...” This was the third time the King had sighed.
He set down his wine cup and spoke slowly, “The 【Great Earthquake】 has not occurred on this continent for nearly a thousand years.”
“But once it appears, it means an unimaginable disaster is upon us!”
“For example... a beast tide!”
“The Eros Kingdom is located far from volcanoes and oceans, situated on a plain, so we avoided volcanic eruptions and tsunami storms. However, we cannot avoid a beast tide.”
“The rifts caused by the 【Great Earthquake】 cut through the forest, continuing to split open and driving the magical beasts to flee their homes.”
“To survive, they can only search for and carve out new habitats.”
“The kings among the magical beasts will lead the beast tides and march toward human territory.”
“Unfortunately, our scholars estimate that our kingdom is highly likely to be directly in the path of this impending beast tide.”
“It has only been a day, and you've already deduced this?” Leona was somewhat surprised.
The King smiled bitterly. “Because that rift is simply too massive. It lies just a few thousand kilometers away from our kingdom. By then, all the magical beasts in that area will head toward us. It's not hard to deduce.”
“Therefore, in the near future—likely in another two days—the beast tide will finish gathering and arrive.”
“Our kingdom, our strength... might not be enough to stop this beast tide.”
“So, I hope to beg for your assistance!”
“Powerhouses of All Souls, brave warriors, please help us!”
“In return, we will provide ample compensation!”
Hearing this, Leona fell silent for a moment, then explained the situation to Zhang Ye and the others.
In truth, with the system's translation function, Zhang Ye understood it even more clearly than Leona did.
“What do you all think?” Leona asked.
Zhang Ye pondered for a moment, then directly asked the King, “Your Majesty, how many Saint-tiers does your kingdom have?”
Everyone was stunned.
What came out of Zhang Ye's mouth was incredibly fluent and authentic continental common language of this other world. This made Leona look at Zhang Ye with a hint of surprise in her eyes.
You even know this?
However, the King didn't mind too much. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Five. The strongest among us is Mentor Fridli here by my side.”
A nation's military power shouldn't be revealed so easily and should normally be kept secret. However, the King knew that such secrecy was pointless against the All Souls Magic Academy.
Because the All Souls Magic Academy was far too powerful compared to this tiny kingdom.
Moreover, they were currently the ones begging for help.
Zhang Ye nodded.
This time, the academy had sent a total of ten mentors and twenty senior students. Among them, all ten mentors and ten of the senior students were Saint-tiers!
The remaining students also possessed combat strength of Tier Nine or above!
Still, Zhang Ye felt it was a bit risky.
He asked the King, “Your Majesty, can you estimate what level of beast tide we will be facing?”
Rate on N.U.
