Chapter 503: The Crown Bearer
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 503: The Crown Bearer
"How long has it been?"
A faint light illuminated the faces of the man and woman, inches apart. Celicia, no longer trembling, shifted uncomfortably in Muen's arms and asked.
Muen opened his eyes and glanced at his pocket watch. "Half an hour has passed."
"No movement outside?"
"None."
"Indra King didn't pursue us?"
"It seems not. I've deployed an alchemy domain that can mask our presence."
"Is that so..."
Celicia’s eyes flickered. She slowly raised her head, her cold gaze meeting Muen’s. Suddenly, a hint of frost returned to her voice.
"Then how much longer do you plan on holding me?"
"Uh..."
Muen froze. He hadn't expected Celicia to turn cold the moment she recovered.
Just moments ago, she had been shivering and clinging to him like a frightened bird; now that the side effects had passed, she was ready to kick him aside.
What did she take him for? A human space heater? You want me to let go? Well, now I don't want to...
"Hmm?"
"Haha, the weather... it's a bit hot. A bit hot."
Muen obediently released Celicia, tugging at his collar and looking around while fanning his forehead, which didn't have a single drop of sweat.
He’d been holding a literal block of ice for half an hour; it would be a miracle if he were actually hot.
"It seems you've recovered well, too."
Celicia’s gaze fell upon Muen’s exposed chest. Earlier, his chest had been visibly caved in by Indra King’s palm strike, yet in just thirty minutes, it had almost entirely healed.
"Just a flesh wound."
Muen gave a strained laugh.
Being nearly flattened into a two-dimensional object by Indra King had been incredibly pathetic. Though his internal organs had been damaged and that terrifyingly overbearing power had invaded his body to wreak havoc, those injuries truly were just "flesh wounds" to him.
With the recovery potions he carried and the Black Sun Wheel burning within him, the domineering energy that would have caused a normal martial artist to drop dead instantly was nothing more than fuel for the Sun Wheel. It couldn't stir up any real trouble.
At this rate, as long as he wasn't ground into ash on the spot, he could probably survive losing a few organs.
Without realizing it, has my vitality started to resemble those evil cultists I usually hate—the ones who won't die even if you don't finish them off properly? Muen lamented inwardly.
"As long as you're fine."
Celicia nodded slightly, her posture natural. It was impossible to tell if she actually cared or not.
She rose from the bed and looked down to straighten her slightly disheveled clothes. Her expression remained unchanged, as if the intimacy from moments ago was nothing more than a shared dream.
However, his faint scent still lingered around her—something that couldn't be dismissed as a hallucination just yet.
Muen watched Celicia, noting that the color had returned to her face and the chill surrounding her had subsided. Seeing that she was truly out of danger, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"He really didn't chase us?"
After tidying herself, Celicia walked out of their hiding spot, circled the perimeter, and returned to the room.
"The entire fragment of the Shadow of Belland is actually quiet."
"What are you thinking?" Muen asked, curious about her contemplative look.
"Just a slight anomaly."
Celicia looked up at the rolling gray mist in the distance, speaking as if to herself:
"However, I think I've figured it out now."
"Figured it out?"
"Yes."
Celicia’s eyes shimmered slightly as she said tonelessly, "The Indra King we just faced... was likely just an avatar."
"An ava—"
Muen’s pupils shrank. Recalling the terrifying pressure that felt like a mountain collapsing, he said in disbelief, "Are you sure?"
"I'm not sure if it was an avatar, but I am certain it wasn't his true body."
Celicia said coldly, "A puppet, an alchemical golem, or some kind of magical creation—any of those are possible. But it could not have been Indra King himself."
"Why?"
"It's simple." Celicia paused, looking at Muen. "If Indra King had been there in person, we would both be dead. We wouldn't be here... being intimate."
"..."
"My apologies. Please continue."
Celicia withdrew her piercing gaze. "Don't you find it strange? That we actually managed to escape his hands? That was Indra King, a veteran Crown Bearer! And what is our level?"
"A late Third-Tier martial artist." Muen pointed to himself, then to Celicia.
"A late Fourth-Tier martial artist, a Sublimation-Tier mage, and a Divine Blessed," Celicia added.
"That's quite a long title." Muen’s lip twitched before he speculated, "A Third-Tier and a Fourth-Tier escaping a Crown Bearer... it does sound incredible. But is it possible he was just careless?"
"..."
Celicia didn't speak; she simply looked at Muen as if he were an idiot.
"Alright, alright, it's highly unlikely."
Muen thought about it for a moment and quickly admitted the flaw in his logic.
Indeed, while Indra King had exerted a terrifying pressure and dread at the time, the actual scale of his attack was nowhere near the world-shaking power he had displayed during their first encounter.
Compared to other instances Muen had seen of Crown Bearers in action, it fell far short.
He had previously assumed Indra King was simply looking down on him again... but in hindsight, an Indra King who had explicitly stated he wanted to "reclaim his dignity" would never have held back.
This wasn't some cliché Dragon Proud Sky novel, and he wasn't the protagonist; enemies wouldn't conveniently hold back just enough for him to survive and power up.
"A Crown Bearer..."
Celicia sighed softly. "The six tiers of mages—Mercury, Gold, Secret Rite, Sublimation, Radiant, and Truth—generally rise at a balanced pace. But martial artists are different."
"The first five tiers are simply called Tiers One through Five. The names are ordinary, and they are often looked down upon by mages of the same level. In those first five tiers, a mage's utility far exceeds that of a martial artist. Even in terms of combat, while it's said martial artists have the advantage at close range, a prepared mage will almost always win a fair one-on-one fight. After all, any mage who has attended an academy or read a textbook carries several magic artifacts on them."
"Not to mention other fields of expertise."
"But once a martial artist ascends to the Crowned boundary, their strength undergoes an explosive surge. It is a qualitative change in the truest sense—an elevation of their very life form. It cannot be compared to the previous realms. At that point, the logic reverses: unless a Crown Bearer is incredibly arrogant or careless, they will almost certainly win a one-on-one fight against a Truth-Tier Grand Magister of the same level!"
"The Heaven-Bestowed Crown, a body nearing godhood... those aren't just empty words!" Celicia’s expression was grave.
"Heaven-Bestowed Crown, a body nearing godhood..."
Muen whispered the words, letting out a long breath.
He thought of his father, the man known as the Lion King. One reason the Campbell family remained a pillar of the Empire's dukedoms despite having only one heir per generation was that almost every Duke Campbell, without exception, had become a Crown Bearer.
The weight of those three words was evident.
"The moment I saw Indra King, I was prepared to die," Celicia said tonelessly, stating a terrifying fact as she looked at the pensive Muen. "But not only did we survive, you even..."
"Injured Indra King?"
"Yes. Even if the two blades in your hands are extraordinary, your realm is too low. It should have been impossible for you to break through Indra King's 'Domain'."
"True. The pressure then was horrifying, but it wasn't enough to leave me completely immobilized."
"It seems I don't need to say more."
Celicia fell silent.
Muen didn't press further. At this point, he already believed her; he just needed to confirm a few details.
However...
Muen’s brow suddenly jumped, and he looked at Celicia with a strange expression. "After saying all that, my dear Princess, what exactly is your point?"
Celicia’s eyes grew deep and her expression inscrutable, though she didn't seem to mind Muen's use of "dear."
She met Muen’s gaze and said, word for word, "Don't you think it's a waste for us to just run away like cowards?"
In the Shadow City, all was silent.
Only a sudden exclamation within the faint arc of the electrical field brought a spark of life to the area.
"Wha—"
Muen froze at Celicia’s words, then blurted out in shock, "You mean..."
"Exactly." Celicia nodded slightly. "That is exactly what I mean."
"You've got to be joking. We barely escaped by using every trick in the book, and now you want to go back and deliver our heads on a silver platter?"
Muen was stunned. He hadn't expected the delicate Celicia to be even more reckless than the heir of a "reckless family."
"Every trick? Truly?" Celicia arched an eyebrow, staring at Muen meaningfully.
"..." Muen remained silent.
Celicia didn't push him. Instead, she walked to the window and gazed out at the silent, broken Shadow City.
"Have you thought about it? We went through hell to get here. If we leave now, all our previous efforts will be for nothing. After all this trouble, would you be satisfied with zero gains? The masterminds behind the scenes won't give us a second chance."
"I'm not satisfied, but what can we do? We escaped from Indra King, which means those people behind the scenes..."
"Don't know yet!" Celicia interrupted him firmly. "They don't know yet!"
"..."
Muen was taken aback again. "Why? Half an hour is enough time for Indra King to write them a love letter. How could they not have noticed anything?"
"Half an hour has passed, yes, but don't forget where we are."
Celicia pointed toward the churning gray mist. "This is the Shadow of Belland, a place completely isolated from the outside world. Any long-range communication is useless here. The connection between Indra King’s avatar and his true body must be severed right now. Therefore, to know what's happening here, those hiding cowards have to come here in person—or send something that can carry their will."
"But they can't be here all the time. Their identities dictate that they cannot disappear from public view for too long. Hiding their secrets in such a secluded place comes with the price of inconvenience. It has been a full thirty minutes, yet it is still this quiet, and no one has come to hunt us down. That is the best proof."