Chapter 013: The Observatory

Time passed swiftly. Even after recruiting 200,000 soldiers, Duke Green sent word that another attack on the Frozen Alliance was about to begin. The magical letter instructed Du Fan to meet again at Red Lake City.

Through the secret passage once used by Moses with the Black Panther Knights and the elves’ archers, Du Fan flew atop a large flock of griffins. The sky was filled with these creatures, flying low as they headed north. The vast swarm of level-7 griffins scared the birds and animals in the jungle into chaotic flight.

After a day and night, Du Fan arrived at a place not far from the Frozen Alliance—a huge valley with a castle nestled in its center. With its towering towers, thick walls, and majestic structure built against the mountains, the castle was clearly a heavily fortified defensive stronghold.

Du Fan led his flock of griffins toward the castle. When they were about 100 meters away, the griffins at the front began to fly erratically. Ahead, as if an invisible wall, something blocked their path.

“Third Grandpa, it’s Du Fan!” Du Fan, who was behind, shouted loudly.

“It’s Du Fan. Quickly lift the barrier,” came an aged voice in response.

The voice was strange—though old, it also had a clear quality. Soon, a creaking sound was heard, and the castle gates opened.

Standing to greet Du Fan was an old man with snow-white beard and hair. Despite his white hair, his face retained a youthful, radiant appearance—almost like the legendary “white hair, youthful face,” though not quite. He exuded a mysterious, destructive aura, reminiscent of a meteor striking.

Lucius Green was the only surviving member of Du Fan’s grandfather’s generation in the Green family. This Star and Moon Castle was the Green family’s secret base in the north, under Lucius’s control. Du Fan had only been brought here by Duke Green just over two months ago. The fact that it had been kept hidden from him until then showed just how secret this base truly was!

Facing Du Fan, he entered Star Moon Castle. Immediately, in front of him appeared not only members of the Green family but also representatives of the dwarves and elves. Initially, Duke Green had stationed these two ultimate assets in Star Moon Castle. According to Duke Green’s plan, with over 300,000 troops in the north, there was no need to deploy these two forces. The Black Panther Knights and the Elf Archers served as pieces in Duke Green’s strategy, hidden in Star Moon Castle, ready to launch an attack from there should anything happen in the north! The Green family’s troops stationed in Star Moon Castle numbered just over 3,000, plus some logistical personnel, making a total of around 5,000 people. Those allowed to live in Star Moon Castle were either promising young people from branches of the Green family, those loyal to the family, descendants of martyrs who had sacrificed for the family, or meritorious soldiers who, due to severe injuries or old age, were assigned there by the Green family to retire. “Du Fan, boy, what do you plan to do with so many griffins?” Lu Xiu asked loudly, looking at the dense group of griffins behind Du Fan. “Third Grandpa, I brought these griffins to serve as mounts for the elf archers,” Du Fan replied promptly upon hearing Lu Xiu’s question. “Impressive! Du Fan, haha, with 2,000 griffin archers on the battlefield, they’ll definitely be a key force!” Lu Xiu laughed as he watched the griffins land in the central square of the castle. “Heh, I hope these griffin archers won’t have to be used,” Du Fan said calmly. “Du Fan, what do you mean by that?” Lu Xiu asked immediately. “Third Grandpa, if my elf griffin archers aren’t needed, it means things are going smoothly on my father’s side,” Du Fan explained. “That makes sense!” Lu Xiu nodded in agreement. “Elder Du Fan, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you!” A familiar voice suddenly came from behind Du Fan.

“Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Purple! It’s you all!” The five elf archers standing before him were indeed the five sacred-grade archers of the elf race. On their way back to the elf tribe, they had been stopped by Elder Lihe and became guards to protect Naixiu. Upon suddenly seeing Du Fan, the five of them became extremely happy.

It had been Du Fan who had thrown each of them into the Waters of Life, and then they had gone together on an adventure to the Ruins of the Gods. These five archers could be said to have shared life and death with Du Fan, and now, seeing him again, they were overjoyed.

“Haha, long time no see! Are you all getting used to living in Star Moon Castle?” Du Fan asked, looking at the five sacred-grade archers.

“It’s really great here,” Red replied, nodding repeatedly after hearing Du Fan’s question.

After carefully observing Star Moon Castle, Du Fan found it to be an excellent dwelling place. The city’s infrastructure was highly developed, and the buildings had a simple and elegant style. Located deep in the mountains, the air was extremely fresh, and the environment was very serene!

Such a place would satisfy even the elves, who had high standards for living conditions, and the dwarf knights would consider it living in paradise.

“You’ve gathered all the elves here, right?” Du Fan said to Red. “I’ve brought over two thousand griffins, which should be enough—one for each of them.”

“Are these griffins all for us?” Red asked, staring at Du Fan in surprise.

Although level seven griffins weren’t very high in rank, for the elf archers, who were skilled in archery, they would prefer these level seven magical beasts over those of level eight.

“That’s right, they’re all for your elves. There are over two thousand three hundred griffins in total. Besides one for each of you here, there will be about three hundred left over. You can keep those here under your care,” Du Fan said.

“No problem,” Red agreed immediately upon hearing this.

After that, Du Fan removed the restrictions from the griffins’ minds one by one and had the elves sign contracts with them.

By the time this was done, it was almost nightfall.

“Young man, I think you’d better stay here tonight,” Luxiu said, looking at the sky and then at Du Fan.

After a while, this Lu Xiu called Du Fan “the third young master” again. Du Fan’s grandfather had three brothers in total. Among them, Du Fan’s grandfather was the eldest, while his second grandfather died in battle at an early age—having never gotten married. As for the third grandfather, due to some unforeseen events, he fell out with the person he loved and never married either. As a result, Lu Xiu looked at Du Fan as if he were his own grandson. Du Fan’s True Eye could immediately tell that his third grandfather had reached the level of a powerful realm expert! Lu Xiu’s cultivation level was undoubtedly among the highest in the Green family. Of course, Du Fan’s eldest and second brothers had already merged their divine essences, so it was only a matter of time before they surpassed his third grandfather. Given the age of the third grandfather, it seemed unlikely he could break through to the divine level on his own—older people had weaker life energy, and with weaker life energy, making further breakthroughs became extremely difficult. As for the emotional troubles of Lu Xiu, Du Fan had only heard brief mentions from his father. As a younger generation member, Du Fan naturally wouldn’t ask too many questions, and he wasn’t the kind to gossip. “Third grandfather, I think I’d better hurry back to my father,” Du Fan said promptly upon hearing Lu Xiu’s words. “Du Fan, I suggest you stay for one night. Look at the night sky tonight—there are no clouds. When the stars appear, you can go to the observatory our family has set up in Star Moon Castle. There, you might gain a deeper understanding of star energy,” Lu Xiu said seriously. “An observatory? Third grandfather, do you mean the observatory in our family is in Star Moon Castle?” Du Fan asked quickly. “That’s right. The location for building an observatory is extremely demanding. So, aside from the one in our territory, there’s only one in Star Moon Castle,” Lu Xiu replied immediately. The Green family’s territory was the Green Province in the west. Once, an ancestor of the Green family won a crucial battle. Delighted, Emperor Gavin conferred upon that ancestor the title of hereditary marquis, granting him control over a province—whose name was even changed to the Green Province!

It is said that the progenitor of theGreen family was the remarkable figure who created Star Combat Energy. One night, while meditating in a certain place under the starry sky, he suddenly had an epiphany and devised this extraordinary skill. Once his cultivation reached perfection, he used his Star Combat Energy to dominate the entire Roland Continent. Within a single month, he challenged seventy-two masters in a row, achieving seventy victories and two draws—all against opponents of roughly the same cultivation level as him, all of them domain experts. That month, his fame soared like the bright moon in the sky, inspiring awe among everyone. Yet it was also during that month that his strength grew dramatically through continuous challenges, allowing him to break through to the divine realm in one go. Since that progenitor, no one in theGreen family has ever reached the divine level again. The observatory located in theGreen Province was built at the very place where theGreen progenitor first understood Star Combat Energy. And this observatory in Star Moon Castle is the only one other than that one—it is also the only location suitable for building an observatory that theGreen family has found on the Roland Continent over the years. An observatory is the most ideal place in theGreen family for cultivating Star Combat Energy. Even in the capital of Emperor Gavin, no observatory was built, largely because there was no suitable location—such a place must align with the positions of the stars in the sky to resonate with them.