Chapter 0024: Ambush

After spending a month in the Kingdom of Lutong searching for the mysterious dwarf mastermind behind the magic sword, Tai Ruo had no success and could only return to the Holy Mountain to report.
Having stayed in the Kingdom of Lutong for a month, Tai Ruo and his group traveled at full speed. Two days later, they left the kingdom and passed through several smaller kingdoms. Five days after that, they reached the edge of the Magic Beast Mountains.
It would take about half a month to reach the border of the Dragon Language Empire from there, and another few days to arrive at the Holy Mountain, the headquarters of the Church.
The Holy Mountain of the Church stood on an island at the border between the Dragon Language Empire and the Kingdom of Biyou.
As they walked along the edge of the Magic Beast Mountains, for some reason, Tai Ruo felt uneasy today.
The night was quiet, and the sound of his unicorn’s hooves on the mountain path was clearly audible.
Silence! How could it be so quiet? Or rather, eerily silent!
Tai Ruo suddenly stopped and shouted, “Stop!”
Upon hearing the order, the more than 200 knights of the Church’s knight order stopped in unison.
The leader of the knight order, Luo Feng, rode his mount to Tai Ruo’s side and asked respectfully, “Lord Tai Ruo, what’s the matter?”
Tai Ruo frowned, glanced around, then said, “Luo Feng, don’t you think it’s too quiet tonight?”
It wasn’t strange for it to be quiet at night, but since they were at the edge of the Magic Beast Mountains, such silence was unusual.
Hearing what the archbishop said, Luo Feng was shocked. He had already sensed something was wrong, and now he understood what it was.
But he was part of the Church—who would dare attack the Church? Especially when Tai Ruo was its archbishop.
Upon hearing this, Luo Feng leaped off his magic beast, stood in midair, radiating combat energy, and shouted, “Which coward dares to come here without showing himself?”
Luo Feng was a Holy Land warrior, another powerful figure among Tai Ruo’s group.
With the two Holy Lands and a knight order of over 200 people, Luo Feng believed even if the three Holy Lands came together, they wouldn’t stand a chance. He wanted to see who had the audacity to attack the Church.
The sound echoed for a long time before fading away.
Suddenly, two magic beasts and a thin old man in gray clothes appeared out of thin air in the night sky ahead of Luo Feng.
They stood in midair, facing Luo Feng.
“The three Holy Lands!” Both Luo Feng and the 200+ knights below paled. Even Tai Ruo frowned deeply, his expression grave.

A Sanctuary Mage and two great Sanctuary Magical Beasts—what shocked Tai Ruo and the others was that all three of their opponents were not at the beginner level of the Sanctuary, and each of those two great Sanctuary Magical Beasts possessed a power far surpassing that of Tai Ruo, who was at the intermediate level.
Due to their physical advantages, Sanctuary Magical Beasts are generally stronger than Sanctuary experts of the same rank. Thus, although Pi Er and En Di, the two great Sanctuary Magical Beasts, were at the intermediate level like Tai Ruo, the Arch-Cardinal, Tai Ruo would be at a clear disadvantage in a one-on-one fight.
Feeling the oppressive pressure from the three opponents, Tai Ruo soared into the air and stood in front of Luo Feng, saying in a deep voice, “Who are you? I am Arch-Cardinal Tai Ruo.”
He spoke to Bog, but it was En Di, the Golden-Eyed Purple Ape, who replied. En Di grinned, let out a cold laugh, and pointed at Tai Ruo, saying, “It’s you we’ve been looking for, red-haired old man.”
Tai Ruo’s expression changed. He had planned to use his status as an Arch-Cardinal to drive them away, but he never expected them to be looking for him specifically.
Sensing their murderous intent, Tai Ruo raised his hand to stop the enraged Luo Feng behind him and said coldly, “Have you three come for the Magic Sword? To offend our Holy Church over a mere Magic Sword is not worth it.”
In Tai Ruo’s mind, this was the only reason that could have drawn those three Sanctuary experts here.
After hearing his words, Pi Er, the Cave Dragon, and En Di, the Golden-Eyed Purple Ape, exchanged glances and burst into laughter. Bog, however, stood aside in silence.
In truth, he was no calmer than Tai Ruo and the others—indeed, his heart was filled with shock.
Until tonight, he had never realized that the pet usually held in the young master’s arms was actually a Sanctuary Magical Beast!
Looking at the two great Sanctuary Magical Beasts beside him, his expression became complex. The young master seemed even more mysterious in his eyes. After all, even some of the strongest Sanctuary experts in the Eternal Yuan Continent did not possess such magical beasts, like him.
So how did that young master manage to make those two great Sanctuary Magical Beasts willingly follow him?
This question had plagued him ever since he came here to intercept Tai Ruo.
Seeing the mocking laughter of the two great Sanctuary Magical Beasts, Tai Ruo’s sense of unease grew stronger.
Could it not be because of the Magic Sword?
“What Magic Sword? Offend the Church? If we kill you all, who will know it was us?” Pi Er, the Cave Dragon, chuckled, his huge eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty light.
Tai Ruo suppressed his anger and said coldly, “How many times has our Church offended you?”
“Offended us?” En Di, the Golden-Eyed Purple Ape, shook his monkey head.

“You haven’t offended them.” Suddenly, a deep voice rang out in the night sky. Then, under the astonished gazes of Tai Ruo and Luo Feng, a figure enveloped in white mist appeared out of thin air. What shocked them even more was that the two sacred realm beasts and that sacred realm mage bowed respectfully to the newcomer. “Master!” “Young Master!” Master?! Tai Ruo, Luo Feng, and the knights all widened their eyes in shock. After arriving, Huang Long turned to Tai Ruo and said slowly, “It’s me you’ve offended.” Tai Ruo was horrified, “What? Who are you?!” “Me? Haven’t you been looking for me lately?” Under the other party’s puzzled gaze, Huang Long pointed at the magic sword on Tai Ruo’s back. “If I’m not mistaken, that magic sword was forged by me.” “What! You… you’re the legendary master craftsman!” Tai Ruo and Luo Feng exclaimed in shock. The mysterious master craftsman they had been searching for all month was none other than this enigmatic figure with subordinates from the three sacred realms! Bog, standing behind Huang Long, stared at the young master in disbelief. Tai Ruo and the others didn’t know Huang Long’s identity, but he knew—six years old! Only six years old! The young master was none other than the legendary master craftsman who forged that magic sword! He knew Huang Long had no reason to lie. A six-year-old master craftsman! The creator of the magic sword was only six years old! Bog swallowed hard. Before Tai Ruo and Luo Feng could recover from their shock, a cold glint flashed in Huang Long’s eyes as he growled, “Kill!” The two sacred realm beasts could no longer hold back. At Huang Long’s command, they roared and unleashed two forbidden spells. One was a earth-based forbidden spell, Earth Collapse! Hundreds of meters of ground collapsed instantly, with terrifying cracks appearing everywhere. The other was a fire-based forbidden spell, Fire Dragon Roar! A hundred-foot-long fire dragon roared, and as it passed through the knight squad, the knights turned to ashes one after another. The slaughter began! By the time Tai Ruo and Luo Feng reacted, more than half of the 200 knights had already died. They were desperate, angry, and terrified! But they still couldn’t understand—even if the other party was that mysterious master craftsman, they hadn’t offended him at all. Why then did he want to kill them? Could it be that their investigations had angered this mysterious master craftsman?