Book 20, The Crown’s Riddle – Chapter 40, The Red Caltrop Diamond Emerges!
Moving as fast as lightning, he instantly pierced through the skies.
Clementine’s eyes were filled with wild joy. “Haha, I didn’t expect that I would be the first of the nine Paragons to discover it! Lionheart City. So those three words were pointing to a story. Pointing to the fact that the red caltrop diamond was hidden within the body of a Silverhorn Snowlion.” Clementine was currently completely certain.
Just then, Clementine had stretched his divine sense out to search all of the Silverhorn Snowlions of the entire plane.
In the Okerlund Plane, there were a total of twelve Silverhorn Snowlions. Aside from two which lived together, the other ten were scattered about. It was naturally easy for him to search those twelve magical beasts. Clementine only needed a moment to completely search the bodies of those twelve Silverhorn Snowlions.
Indeed!
There were three Silverhorn Snowlions who lived in the ‘Snowy Icecliff Region’ in the northern part of the Beastgod continent. The most powerful and largest of the Silverhorn Snowlions had an interspatial ring in its body!
If he had immediately left upon returning to his estate, the other Paragons would have immediately had questions about where he had just gone. Thus, Clementine had waited an hour. Although this made it so that the other Paragons might notice as well, Clementine was impatient now. In addition, he was completely confident.
“Hmph. By the time those eight react, I should have already arrived at the Snowy Icecliff Region. In addition, in terms of speed, I rank at the front of those nine. I’m the first one to arrive; they won’t catch up in time. Once that red caltrop diamond falls into my hands, they can forget about taking it back.” Clementine was completely confident.
Paragons of Light specialized in speed!
A ray of light shot straight towards the Snowy Icecliff Region of the Beastgod continent.
Snowlion Empire. Lionheart City. Lionheart Magus Institute. The library.
Tens of thick, heavy tomes were placed on the table. These tens of tomes all described various places and events of Lionheart City. As the imperial capital, there were many, many stories regarding Lionheart City! Some of these books talked about the various heroic figures who had emerged in the countless years of the city’s history, as well as some of the legendary secret histories of the imperial palace. They introduced some of the magus institutes and the Founding Emperor...
There was simply too much.
Linley and Bebe had no idea what special meaning was contained within those three simple words, ‘Lion Heart City’. Thus, they had no choice but to read through these books. They hoped that while reading one story in particular, they might have a sudden insight and be able to think through the secret.
“Eh?” Linley frowned, and Bebe couldn’t help but look towards Linley.
“Why has Clementine left Lionheart City?” Linley muttered.
“Clementine left Lionheart City?” Bebe stared. “Boss, Lionheart City is linked with the red caltrop diamond. Why has Clementine left?”
“Logically speaking, he shouldn’t.” Linley said with furrowed brows. “Unless...”
“Unless he knows the true secret of the three words, ‘Lion Heart City’. He knows that the red caltrop diamond isn’t within Lionheart City!” Bebe said hurriedly.
“Right. That’s the only explanation.” Linley nodded.
“Boss, are we going to chase after him? If he acquires the red caltrop diamond, what are we to do?” Bebe said frantically.
Linley shook his head and laughed. “Calm down. This isn’t the time to grow impatient yet.”
“This isn’t the time?” Bebe stared.
“Tell me; if we chase after him, even if we catch him, what will Clementine do? He doesn’t have the red caltrop diamond yet. How will we know where to go acquire it, then?” Linley said.
Bebe was startled.
This was indeed true. They didn’t know where the red caltrop diamond was. How would chasing after Clementine change that?
“In addition, Clementine is going north! Even if he acquires the red caltrop diamond, he has to hurry to the Fogdeep continent’s teleportation array. He’ll have to go a long distance. We can intercept him midway.” Linley said. “Clementine doesn’t know my real power. Paragons are believed to be invincible amongst Deities! This is the iron rule...of the past. After acquiring the red caltrop diamond, he will probably head off by himself and take it to the teleportation array.”
If Linley was an ordinary Paragon, then Clementine probably really would have nothing to fear.
“Then we...?” Bebe was startled.
“Sit here and read these books.” Linley said calmly.
“Oh.” Bebe had no choice but to suppress his heart, calming himself.
“Clementine...” Linley’s gaze was dark and icy, with a cold light flashing every so often. Although he looked very calm, how could Linley truly be calm? Doehring Cowart had taught Linley since he was young; he could be said to be Linley’s teacher, but also Linley’s ‘grandfather’. Although his father was important, Linley’s father, ‘Hogg’, hadn’t been with Linley for too long, after all.
But Grandpa Doehring had always accompanied Linley and guided Linley...in Linley’s heart, Grandpa Doehring’s status was definitely comparable to his father’s.
Grandpa Doehring’s death, in particular, was a wound that lingered, deep in Linley’s soul.
Forget about sacrificing one or two divine clones; even at the risk of true death, Linley would want to bring Grandpa Doehring back to life. From this, one could imagine how deeply Linley valued the red caltrop diamond.
“At all costs, I must find the red caltrop diamond...” Linley locked his divine sense onto the distant, flying Clementine. Clementine himself didn’t notice, but he did notice the other seven Paragons paying attention to him. For the sake of avoiding Clementine’s suspicion, Linley would occasionally use Sovereign’s Might to search him as well.
He wanted these Paragons to think that Linley was only occasionally searching.
“Boss, Boss.” Bebe suddenly called out in surprised delight.
“What is it?” Linley was startled.
“Boss, look at this story, quick.” Bebe, excited and surprised, handed over a flipped open book in his hands to Linley. The two pages that were on display even had an inserted image which was of a Silverhorn Snowlion that had its stomach torn open by a human.
Linley swept it with his gaze, instantly reading the complete story.
“Silverhorn Snowlion. Snatching the already shattered heart, then bursting out from the stomach? This is the origin of Lionheart City?” Linley seemed to have been struck by thunder.
Linley’s group had been pondering about which lifeform was hiding the red caltrop diamond within its body. If they searched them all one by one, it would be like searching for a needle in the sea; how long would it take?
But upon seeing this story, most likely quite a few of the Paragons would understand.
Linley and Bebe were shocked as well.
“Silverhorn Snowlions!” Linley’s divine sense instantly spread out to all of the Silverhorn Snowlions in the northern region. Silverhorn Snowlions liked frigid environments, and the northern part of the Beastgod continent, the ‘Snowy Icecliff Region’, had three right there. In an instant, Linley searched the three Silverhorn Snowlions.
One of them had an interspatial ring within its body.
“That’s it!”
Linley rose to his feet, his eyes blazing like fire. “Bebe, let’s go!”
“Let’s go.” Bebe, after seeing the story, could guess at the secret now.
Linley and Bebe immediately disappeared from the library of the magus institute. And then, Linley and Bebe transformed into a ray of green light, rapidly advancing towards the north.
“Linley’s heading out as well? Can it be that they’ve all discovered the secret?”
The Paragon of Wind, Bayer, instantly flew out of Lionheart City as well.
Not just him; the other six Paragons no longer hesitated, immediately flying out of Lionheart City and towards Linley and Clementine.
The three words, ‘Lion Heart City’, involved the secret of the red caltrop diamond. Logically speaking, they shouldn’t be leaving Lionheart City. But after being here just a single day, Clementine had left! This had already aroused the suspicions of the other Paragons. But a short while later, Linley had actually left Lionheart City as well.
Two people had left in succession. This had a major impact on the other seven Paragons.
Thus, everyone hurried to leave.
Linley and Bebe flew at high speed in the air above the Beastgod continent.
“Boss, why aren’t you flying over at top speed?” Bebe said frantically. Linley, even now, was just using wind-type Sovereign power. He didn’t use his fused divine power. Linley’s speed with wind-type Sovereign power was comparable to the speed of the other Paragons.
This was because Linley was hiding his power! But even now, Linley still wanted to hide?
“If my speed increases several times over, they will definitely be surprised and confused. By then, problems will occur.” Linley sent back. “More importantly, Clementine started flying much earlier than I did. He’s already reached the Snowy Icecliff Region. Even if my speed increases several times over, there’s no way I can get there before him and reach that Silverhorn Snowlion first.”
Since he wasn’t able to catch up at maximum speed, it would be best for him to temporarily continue to hide his power.
Linley didn’t expose his power, and so Clementine would definitely continue to believe the myth that ‘Paragons were invincible amongst Deities’. When the time came, Linley would definitely have an opportunity.
If Clementine knew how powerful Linley was, he would definitely be prepared. By then, Linley’s chances for acquiring the red caltrop diamond would be even lower.
“Right now, Clementine has reached the Silverhorn Snowlion.” Linley was rather uneasy, but for the sake of acquiring the red caltrop diamond, he had to calm himself down!
The Snowy Icecliff Region.
This was the coldest part of the Beastgod continent. This region was extremely large, stretching out to ten million kilometers. According to legend, within this Snowy Icecliff Region, there lived the primeval races of ‘Glacier Giants’, ‘Deep Sea Lions’, ‘Silverhorn Snowlions’, and other terrifying ice-attribute Saint-level magical beasts!
There were almost no people here.
Even experts who wanted to train would rarely come here. It was simply too cold.
“Whoooosh.” Snowflakes flew everywhere, and the cold wind howled like knives.
A hill-sized Silverhorn Snowlion was lying in the middle of an enormous cave within a giant glacier. As a supreme magical beast, the area for a hundred kilometers around the Silverhorn Snowlion’s lair didn’t have a single other magical beast present.
“Swish.”
A ray of light shot down from the skies into the cave.
“Hmph...” Two thick streams of white smoke came out from the nostrils of the Silverhorn Snowlion, so thick they seemed like smoky pillars. Its giant silver eyes stare directly at the newcomer...the golden-haired man dressed in loose white robes. Clementine.
“Who are you?” The Silverhorn Snowlion felt that this person was extraordinary.
Clementine smiled, then set up his Godrealm, completely sealing off this location. He also stretched out his Paragon’s divine sense. Given this situation, Clementine had made it so that other Paragons wouldn’t be able to see through his defense and find out what was going on inside.
“Was there a Deity who once gave you an interspatial ring?” Clementine said. As he said this, Clementine released his aura.
A terrifying presence was released!
The Silverhorn Snowlion’s body trembled, and then it went prostrate, its legs buckling. It stared in terror at Clementine, who stood before him. When Clementine had been hiding his aura, that was one thing, but now that he actively released it...the Silverhorn Snowlion felt as though he were an ant in front of a giant.
“Yes. My master once gave me an interspatial ring.” The Silverhorn Snowlion said hurriedly. At the same time, he opened his mouth and a slick black interspatial ring shot out from it.
Some magical beasts were able to keep storage items in their bodies.
For example, giant dragons or behemoths all had a location that was akin to a ‘storage sac’ that was used for transporting items. Generally speaking, items could be stored within. Very few would use interspatial rings, unless they transformed into the form of a human.
“Actually, this interspatial ring isn’t of much use to me. If you wish it, milord, I am willing to offer it to you.” The Silverhorn Snowlion hurriedly removed the binding. He had never been this terrified before.
The ‘presence’ in front of him was thousands of times more powerful than that of his former master. The Silverhorn Snowlion even had the feeling...that this person was the endless universe itself, capable of killing him with a thought.
“Then I will take it.” Clementine accepted the interspatial ring, immediately binding it with blood, then stretching out his divine sense.
“This...” A look of wild joy crept into Clementine’s eyes.
Indeed...
This interspatial ring was almost completely empty. It held only one item...a red caltrop diamond. The red caltrop diamond contained a Life-type aura. Given the strength of Clementine’s divine will, he could clearly sense it.
“Haha, I finally succeeded. Hmph, hmph, eight of them fought with me over it, but it’s still mine.” Clementine smiled, and then with a flicker, his body flew out and headed at high speed towards the Fogdeep continent.
Clementine’s usage of his divine sense and Godrealm made it so that the other Paragons weren’t able to see what had happened, but Linley had seen everything clearly. That look of wild joy that had appeared on Clementine’s face removed all doubt from Linley.
“Whoosh!”
Instantly, the seven Paragons, Linley, and Bebe all changed their flying directions slightly, wanting to intercept Clementine midway.
“Clementine definitely acquired the red caltrop diamond. We must not let him escape.” A deep voice rang out in Linley’s mind.
“Clementine used his divine sense to block us out, but I’d already searched that Silverhorn Snowlion. The Silverhorn Snowlion did indeed have an interspatial ring in its body, but now...it is gone. It was definitely taken away by Clementine.” Linley sent back to the other seven Paragons. “Everyone, let’s split up and surround him from multiple directions. We definitely can’t let him escape.”
The other Paragons immediately assented.
At this moment, all of them were working in harmony to surround Clementine!
Eight rays of light separated, then slashed through the skies, seeking to prevent that single ray of light.