Chapter 42: Chapter42-Elizabeth’s Information Leak

Countless curious and bewildered gazes turned toward Elarielle.

Over the years, though many outside powers had desperately tried to climb Dalton Town’s hierarchy, their efforts had yielded little.

For most of them, the city’s upper figures were names whispered but faces unseen.

And now, the revelation that the woman before them—Elarielle—was the Dean of the Magic Academy left the crowd utterly stunned.

Elarielle, however, paid no heed to their reaction. She lifted her staff and lightly tapped the air.

“Life Entanglement.”

Countless emerald chains of divine law extended from the void, writhing like living serpents as they coiled around Baroque.

Baroque swung his energy blade furiously, yet to his horror, the chains were unbreakable.

Even when cut apart, they instantly regenerated, feeding on his own energy to strengthen themselves!

It felt as if he were sinking into a vast, swampy mire of green—his movements slowed, his strength drained away with every passing second.

“Help me!”

Baroque’s terrified cry rang out.

Two other Astral Emissaries of the Rivenblade Dynasty immediately responded.

One unleashed a rain of fire across the sky; the other summoned a titanic fist of rock to strike from both sides.

“Natural Balance.”

Elarielle’s staff twirled again.

A massive waterfall manifested out of thin air, extinguishing the flames.

Meanwhile, the stone fist was seized by rapidly sprouting roots and vines, which crushed it to dust.

She danced through the air, elegant and unhurried. Every gesture drew upon the power of the world itself.

Not only did she deflect all three opponents’ attacks, she began forcing them onto the defensive—an overwhelming display of dominance.

A verdant radiance blanketed the battlefield. It was as though the entire world of Aresia had risen to fight by her side.

“The world favors her!”

“She’s been recognized by the will of this world!”

Archbishop Hohenheim’s expression grew grim.

Such a phenomenon could only occur when a person had rendered immense service to the world and was acknowledged by its consciousness.

Those blessed by the world’s will always fought above their rank—yet even so, the extent of her strength was absurd.

She was outnumbered and out-ranked, and still she held the upper hand. It was nearly unthinkable.

Just as Elarielle prepared to unleash a stronger spell to end the fight—

Within the coalition ranks, a Soul Eater Astral Emissary from a certain Level 2 Civilization narrowed his eyes coldly.

Without a sound, he condensed an invisible curse: Soul Corruption Curse—a venomous spell aimed directly at Elarielle’s back.

This curse targeted the essence of the soul itself, a wicked attack from which there was no simple recovery.

“Despicable!”

“Dean, watch out!”

The Dalton side cried out in alarm.

Yet, before the curse could reach its target—still a hundred meters away—it struck something unseen, an invisible barrier woven purely from killing intent.

Clang!

A single sword cry echoed through the void—clear as a phoenix’s call, yet carrying the absolute authority to sever fate and judge life and death itself.

A golden sword light erupted—so condensed, so pure, that it seemed to be the very embodiment of the cosmos’s Law of Slaughter.

The light streaked across the sky, vaporizing the soul curse as sunlight would banish a shadow.

But it did not stop there.

In the next instant, the golden blade appeared before the Soul Eater Emissary who had launched the attack.

Terror twisted his features.

He tried to defend, tried to flee—but the space and time around him had already frozen under that sword’s intent.

“No… what kind of sword intent is this?! You—”

He never finished the sentence.

The sword light passed through him silently.

There was no explosion, no sound—only a stillness more dreadful than death.

The emissary, along with a portion of his warship, vanished as though erased from reality itself—not even dust, not even atoms remained.

And from the rift of fading golden light, Elizabeth Kielman’s form materialized.

She still wore her crisp gold-and-blue officer’s uniform, but her presence had transformed—as deep and cold as an abyss, as fierce and volatile as a volcano about to erupt.

In her hand rested a sword of ancient make, unadorned but radiating a killing edge so sharp that even Astral Archmages felt their souls tremble.

Her violet eyes swept across the enemy ranks, glacial and merciless.

Every being who met that gaze felt their spirit quake in instinctive fear.

“Who else,” she asked softly, “wants to test whether Dalton’s sword is sharp enough?”

Her voice was not loud, but every word struck with the weight of command and finality, echoing in the hearts of all who heard it.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

The once-boisterous coalition fell mute.

If Elarielle’s battle had shocked them—then Elizabeth’s effortless strike had filled them with bone-deep dread.

“Judgment Sword Intent… That’s the Luminous Empire’s royal secret art!”

“How could she possibly…”

Archbishop Hohenheim’s pupils contracted sharply, disbelief twisting his face.

As a powerhouse from a Level 3 Civilization, his breadth of knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary beings.

He had long studied the legacies of civilizations higher than his own.

And though Elizabeth had carefully restrained her aura, he still caught a faint trace—one unmistakably tied to the royal lineage of a higher civilization.

Could it be… that the mysterious power appearing in this unknown star sector was connected to that super civilization?

No, impossible.

From what he knew, the Luminous Empire’s fleet was already en route toward this region.

If they were behind this, they would have already claimed dominion. Who would dare trespass then?

Perhaps it was only a coincidence… merely a resemblance.

Yet in that moment, countless speculations flashed through Hohenheim’s mind—each one more unsettling than the last.

“Enough!”

The Dark Mechanicus “darkweaver” finally couldn’t hold back.

The flagship, swirling like a dark nebula, emitted a terrifying void fluctuation.

“No matter who you are, or where you come from, in the face of absolute power, you will eventually become dust in the universe!”

“Everyone, attack! Destroy them!”

“In the name of the Sacred Light, purify the heretics!”

Hohenheim also raised his staff, and the core of his Holy Judgment exploded with the brilliance of a supernova.

Other Level 3 Civilization Astral Archmages followed suit, releasing their immense pressure.

The entire void began to howl as the laws of the universe were disturbed.

Several attacks capable of destroying entire star systems were now being forged.

Far away in the Luminous Empire star system,

In the solemn and grand central hall, a massive Imperial Sarcophagus floated—crafted from Eternal Crystal and Star Gold, with countless intricate prayer runes and imperial totems engraved on its surface.

It radiated a faint, stable life energy to maintain the nearly lifeless body inside.

This was the Luminous Empire’s current emperor, Emperor Soladin!

Once a powerful figure who reached the Starfield Lord rank, now, after suffering irreparable wounds from the Demon Invasion, his body was in ruins, and his soul was on the verge of shattering.

Now, he could only rely on his immense mental power to silently communicate with his kneeling officials outside the sarcophagus.

The succession to the throne had become the most sensitive and tense issue within the royal court, with currents running deep beneath the surface.

In this oppressive atmosphere, a military intelligence officer, dressed in the attire of an officer, disregarded all formalities and scrambled into the hall.

He held a glowing memory crystal high in his hand, his voice sharp and trembling with excitement.

“Your Majesty!”

“Urgent military intelligence! The observation station from a remote star system has… has revealed footage of a raid from half a year ago!”

“And… and there’s clear spectral energy analysis confirming… confirming the presence of Princess Elizabeth’s life signature and combat energy residue!”

“What?!”

“Princess Elizabeth?”

“Wasn’t she… lost in that battle?”

“By the way, has anyone seen any of Princess Elizabeth’s relics?”

“…”

In an instant, the entire hall was filled with disbelief.

Elizabeth Sharman, the emperor’s once most talented daughter and the youngest general in the empire, had vanished years ago during a cataclysmic Demon Invasion, and everyone believed she had perished.

Inside the Imperial Sarcophagus, the faint mental pulse suddenly surged violently, as if a stone had been thrown into a calm lake.

After a long silence, the mental pulse conveyed a complex thought, clearly echoing in the minds of every official present.

“Is the news… confirmed?”

“Your Majesty, the energy spectrum match is at 99.9%!”

“It’s confirmed, without a doubt. It’s Her Highness, Princess Elizabeth! The location is near a world called Aresia, a low-magic world!”

“Aresia…”

The emperor’s mental pulse repeated this unfamiliar word.

Inside the sarcophagus, Emperor Soladin’s weakened mental energy burned stubbornly, projecting his consciousness across the vast Starsea to the distant and unknown Aresia system.

“Aresia… how far out is that place? How did she get there?”

The emperor’s thoughts were fragmented, filled with fatigue and confusion.

The “death” of Elizabeth had always been shrouded in mystery, and now, to find her in such a distant and uncivilized world, it was even more perplexing.

The intelligence officer below immediately responded respectfully,

“Your Majesty, based on the incomplete footage provided by the survivors, it seems that Princess Elizabeth voluntarily stayed there.”

“She was wearing a non-imperial uniform, commanding an unknown yet powerful army.”

“As for how she reached that world, there is no concrete information yet, but it’s speculated that she might have used some kind of long-range, even… inter-dimensional transportation method, beyond the current technological systems.”

“Voluntarily stayed, commanding an army…”

The emperor’s mental energy repeated those words, filled with emotions—shock, confusion, and a trace of deeply concealed concern.

“Is there something special about that world? What… would require her direct intervention?”

The chief intelligence officer took a deep breath and presented more detailed information.

“Your Majesty, the Aresia system is currently undergoing a large-scale conflict!”

“The cause of the conflict is the sudden appearance of a mysterious city, believed to contain unimaginable wealth, lost technologies, and rare resources! Several major factions from the Starsea—including the Rivenblade Dynasty, Ecclesia of Sacred Brilliance, and Dark Mechanicus—have already sent their main fleets to seize it!”

“Princess Elizabeth… is currently fighting to protect that city!”

“What?!”

“For… a city? The entire Starsea is fighting over it?!”

The emperor’s mental pulse spiked in rage and disbelief.

First, he was furious that these Starsea factions were so greedy that they’d risk everything, disturbing the cosmic balance for a resource—

Then, he was concerned about Elizabeth. She was his most outstanding daughter, the empire’s bravest hawk!

He couldn’t understand why she would make such an unwise decision, putting herself in such peril, becoming an enemy to the entire Starsea!

“Absurd! This is sheer madness!”

A surge of overwhelming anger filled the room, making even the officials surrounding the Imperial Sarcophagus feel suffocated.

But this fury was soon replaced by deeper schemes and a hint of barely concealed urgency.

Elizabeth could not die—especially not at this sensitive moment when the empire’s succession was still unresolved. Her return could break the stalemate.

Even…

It could bring unexpected variables.

Moreover, that city—one that could provoke so many factions to fight—piqued his interest.

After a brief silence, Emperor Soladin’s mental energy became resolute, his will as unyielding as a law, etched into the minds of every official.

“First, immediately send an emergency report to the Vito Multiverse Administration under the empire’s name, detailing the discovery of an unknown high-risk civilization relic causing large-scale conflict, and request the administration’s attention and possible intervention to maintain order in the Starsea.”

“Second, order the Glory Blade task fleet to cancel all rest and initiate the highest-priority transition immediately!”

“By any means necessary, reach the Aresia system at full speed!”

“The primary objective: Ensure the safety of Princess Elizabeth. If necessary… take any measures to bring her back! Secondly, investigate the true nature of Dalton Town!”

“Understood!”

The officials responded in unison, each with their own thoughts.

The emperor’s decree was like a massive stone thrown into the already turbulent political waters of the empire.

Edge of the Aresia System, Void Battlefield.

While the Luminous Empire fleet raced toward the distant Starsea, the battle here was on the verge of erupting!

“Attack! For the Sacred Light!”

“For the Alliance! Destroy them!”

“The treasure is right in front of us! Kill!”

“Kill these greedy wolves and protect our Dalton!”

“Heroes, come and present your behinds so that Lord Henry can teach you greedy bastards a lesson…”

With the simultaneous commands of several Level 3 Civilization leaders, the long-suppressed flames of war finally exploded across the battlefield!

In an instant,

The entire void was flooded with devastating beams of light, strange magic, and massive physical projectiles!

Energy storms ripped through space, and explosions of light flashed like supernovas, turning the cold universe into an inferno.

The Dalton fleet, like rocks in a storm, was instantly engulfed by the terrifying wave of attacks.

However, to the astonishment of the coalition, even though the Dalton fleet was vastly outnumbered, their ships were made of an unbelievably resilient material!

Energy blades from the Rivenblade Dynasty cut through the armor of Dalton cruisers, leaving only deep scorch marks, but they couldn’t sever the ships in one blow.

The Dark Mechanicus’ dark matter erosion beams, when they struck the Dalton warships’ energy shields, eroded at a far slower rate than expected.

Even some Level 1 Civilization artillery fire felt like scratching an itch, unable to even affect the outermost runic sheen!

“Damn it! What are these materials made of?!”

“Their technology doesn’t seem more advanced than ours—some parts even seem quite rough—but this defense… it’s absurd!”

As these Starsea fleets quickly realized, the Dalton warships were constructed using the highest-quality materials sourced by Leo through the system.

However, the process of mastering, absorbing, and innovating technology takes time.

It’s like giving a group of primitives the best alloy formulas and atomic bomb principles—they might manage to create an indestructible shield, but they can’t immediately build precision-guided missiles.

That was the situation with Dalton’s fleet: their “toughness” was top-tier, but their “techniques” were still growing and learning rapidly.This kind of brute-force defense left the coalition feeling like their fists were pounding against a titanium alloy wall in frustration.

At the high-end power level, the battle had reached a fever pitch!

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