The pictures in front of him broke as though a gla.s.s was smashed. Rody seemed as though he was standing in the dark. His mind was blank and his heart was suddenly filled with doubts.

'Why?'

'From these fragmented memories, humans and dragons from long ago were much more powerful than now.'

'During the ancient times, there were so many human masters on the walls. All of them had the strength of a high-ranked knight or warrior! With such strength, both continents would have already been conquered in the current era!'

'Even if all the humans were to be counted right now, we would not have so many masters.'

On top of that, the dragon warriors brought by Arslan were pitifully weak compared to the dragons in the memory fragments.

If the dragon warriors were as powerful as before, humans would have been totally destroyed long ago.

So, what made the races in the world become weaker?

As if responding to Rody’s question, a sudden burst of light appeared in front of him.

Another picture had flashed in front of him...

The picture was blurry. He could vaguely see a slender man. He was in a trance as he faced a huge and jade-like boulder. He then took out a sheepskin parchment.

The man then magically produced a broken wooden staff. He then quickly scribbled on the parchment with the end of the staff...

The staff seemed to carry a powerful magical light. Each time a word was written, the parchment shone with a golden light. Rody could not see the words but he could feel that the words engraved with sorcery were fluctuating with a powerful magic.

Rody was curious as the picture became blurry. He found it irresistible to take a closer look but he had no physical body in that world. His wished in his mind and then he felt as though the picture moved closer. Rody was surprised but he wanted to continue to get closer, like earlier. However, the man holding the staff suddenly exclaimed loudly. He raised his head in alarm and seemingly stared fiercely at Rody.

"It’s you?" the man uttered clearly.

Rody was surprised. Most of the scattered memories he saw were broken and chaotic. It was rare for him to hear such a clear voice. Rody had first thought that the man was talking to him.

The man’s face became clearer. It was as if the fog covering him had dispersed. The man’s thin face looked somewhat familiar.

The man seemed to coldly look at Rody and said, "I did not expect the Dragon G.o.d of the dragon race to also be interested in this."

His expression suddenly changed as he snapped, "Do not come near!"

The man lifted his wooden staff and chanted. Woos.h.!.+ A golden light shot out from the staff. Rody’s mind droned when he saw the golden light. Even the pictures he saw shook.

One could imagine that this scene must have left a very deep impression on the memories of the Dragon G.o.d. Otherwise, it would not have been so vivid.

He saw a black lightning shot out and blocked that man's attack. The man with the staff waved and the golden light became more intense.

It was obvious that the owner of the memory was the Mystic Dragon's son, the self-proclaimed Dragon G.o.d. He was fighting the man with the staff and both of them seemed to be competing for that parchment in the man’s hand.

Finally, Rody heard the familiar voice of the Dragon G.o.d call out.

"Moses, are you planning on betraying G.o.d?"

'Moses!' Rody’s mind stirred and he immediately understood. 'The guy with the staff is Moses, the first Pontiff! I have seen this old guy in my mind before. No wonder he looks familiar!'

'The staff in his hand is the one I had once obtained!'

The young Moses sneered. "G.o.d? How ridiculous. The son of the Mystic Dragon is willing to become a servant of G.o.d? It is truly laughable to hear you say those words!"

With a loud explosion, Moses took a few steps back again.

Right then, a strong beam of light shot down from the sky. The beam struck Moses. He screamed and dropped his staff. His body trembled as he fell to his knees.

A majestic voice seemed to come from the sky.

"For blaspheming against G.o.d, you will not speak, but only words in praise of me!"

Moses struggled more and more. He opened his mouth but was unable to say anything...

Moses’ body was covered in a bright light and then he disappeared without a trace. The Mystic Dragon’s son grinned and went to pick up the parchment on the floor. He smiled as he said, "G.o.d’s Record, G.o.d’s Record…"

However, something changed. The moment he held the parchment, golden flames suddenly appeared from the parchment and burned his hand.

He gave a hoa.r.s.e scream and thrown the parchment aside.

A sigh came from the sky. The majestic voice helplessly said, "The parchment can be sealed but cannot be destroyed. I will make it such that this parchment cannot see the sky, cannot see the earth and cannot see people."

'What is the G.o.d’s Record? Exactly what was recorded?'

'Why did this question suddenly appear? I was just wondering why the human and dragon races were more powerful in the ancient times. Why did it then take me to the memory of the G.o.d’s Record?'

'Could it be that there is a relations.h.i.+p between the weakening of the races and the G.o.d’s Record?'

Rody felt as though his heart was. .h.i.t by a hammer. He reflexively shouted, "Yes...yes! So that was it!"

At that moment, Rody paid close attention as he watched the ‘G.o.d Record’ that fell to the ground. Suddenly, a ray of light came from the sky. Rody felt a pain in his head and he lost consciousness, unable to see anything...

"Ah!"

Rody growled. He suddenly struggled and sat up from the bed. He was sweaty all over and his face was flushed. He was gasping—his chest heaving violently.

"Finally awake?" Old Mark’s cold voice came from his bedside. "You fell unconscious and slept for a long time."

"Unconcious?" Rody was still dazed. In his mind, there were still fragments of the memories of the ancient G.o.d and demon war that bewitched and enchanted him.

‘I fell unconscious?’

Rody felt a sharp pain in his head. He remembered that he had just killed the self-proclaimed Dragon G.o.d who was another child of the Mystic Dragon. He had then absorbed the soul that had fragments of memories...

In other words, he had killed two of the Mystic Dragon's children; Wuya from the Southern Mountains of the Empire and the self-proclaimed Dragon G.o.d. Rody sighed as he felt his muscles ached all over.

"Does it hurt?" Old Mark laughed bitterly. "Unfortunately, we do not have any sorcerer to give you any treatment. Our injuries are merely being treated with medicine instead. The pain you feel is normal."

"I…How long have I been sleeping?" Rody felt his mouth was dry and bitter.

"Not long. Only two days." Old Mark said as he raised two fingers. "On top of that, I want to tell you the good news. We are now aboard a s.h.i.+p."

Rody could faintly feel the room moving up and down, like in a cabin. He felt his glabella1 ache. "What about the others? What about Seth and Mouse? They..."

"The good news is they are alive and on this s.h.i.+p." Old Mark shrugged expressionlessly. "The bad news is that d.a.m.ned combination spell caused your black veil lover to be unable to get out of bed even now. She cannot even stand straight. The sow is also in the same condition."

"Sow…Are you talking about Concubine Ruolan? You also took her away?" Rody stared with eyes wide open.

"It was my decision." Seth’s voice came from the dusky cabin doorway. "It is obvious that the Temple is not the only one that wants our lives. King Sauron is also not so kindhearted…With his concubine, we can at least guarantee a bit of our safety. We no longer need to fear the Temple in the ocean but it is still the domain of the Sauron Navy!"

On top of the tallest tower at the main peak of the temple, a bell that had never been rung suddenly pealed loudly. The Holy Knights moved quickly from below the suspended stairs. The golden bell was only allowed to be rung during an important emergency.

Numerous knights with distinctive armors stood at the Temple square. Flags continued to flutter. A murderous aura alarmingly set off the quiet and holy atmosphere...

The trained knights gathered quickly together. Besides being solemn and nervous, they also had an uneasiness in their eyes.

‘What happened? The golden bell that has not been rung for hundreds of years had now been rung!’

‘Has the war been declared?’

Translator's Note:

1. The s.p.a.ce between the eyebrows.