"That does call for a thorough purge... Geoffrey, I will dispatch thirty Paladins at once to set out imdiately and round up every Heresy ravaging the border!" Kakarim turned, ready to issue the orders.
Geoffrey was completely bewildered at the sight.
When did this Cardinal ever beco so easy to talk to? The request I just submitted didn’t et a minute of hesitation—he not only approved it, but even began mobilizing troops on the spot?
"Lord Kakarim, I will send word at once to have my branch’s Paladins coordinate with headquarters’ operation," Geoffrey said.
Hearing this, Kakarim imdiately halted and turned around.
He strode quickly back towards Geoffrey and said, "No, Geoffrey, don’t move a single one of your Paladins; just let handle all the arrangents."
"Lord Kakarim?"
Geoffrey didn’t quite understand what this ant.
Did he literally an that headquarters would take full control, or was Cardinal Kakarim being sarcastic?
Was he mocking him for coming to headquarters to borrow troops over such a trivial matter?
Or did he despise him for his inaction?
What he didn’t realize was that Kakarim was pressed for ti; he simply feared that Geoffrey’s n would ss things up for him.
But Geoffrey obviously wouldn’t understand Kakarim’s point.
Who would have thought that one day a Cardinal would have to beg a cultist for assistance?
"Lord Kakarim, I was wrong. I hereby withdraw my earlier request. Please do not deploy headquarters’ Paladins. The situation at the border is insignificant. I will resolve it swiftly myself."
"Hmm?" Upon hearing Geoffrey’s apology, Kakarim’s mood actually soured; he leaned in close to Geoffrey’s aged face and demanded, "Are you fucking with ? ... Oh no, what I an is, as a follower of the Divine Mother Goddess you can’t break your word. Since you reported that Heresy is ravaging the border, headquarters would naturally send troops in support—but then you say the border situation is insignificant. What does that an? Do you think our conversation is so casual that it can be casually withdrawn or overturned at will?"
Kakarim restrained his emotions to so extent, but his desperation to save a son still unconsciously exuded an imposing pressure.
That pressure frightened Geoffrey into silence for a long mont.
At this point, he truly couldn’t fathom Kakarim’s mood today: should he let headquarters intervene, or not?
"I need you to now repeat your true request word for word," Kakarim said, staring at Geoffrey.
After a fierce inner struggle, Geoffrey ca up with a foolproof plan and replied, "There is Heresy at the border. I will fully follow Lord Kakarim’s arrangents."
He only needed to state the objective fact—neither exaggerating nor downplaying it—and leave the rest for Kakarim to decide.
Upon hearing those words.
Kakarim then said, "Very well. Geoffrey, not a single one of your branch’s Paladins shall be deployed; I will handle everything."
...
anwhile.
In Goth Manor, Ashu and the other two returned.
The Holy Shield Knight summoned creature was undoubtedly powerful, but Ashu well knew that its abilities had limits.
He couldn’t rely on a single summoned creature for the rest of his life.
Having witnessed Vivita’s power, one can easily imagine Anna’s peak— as a man, I cannot lose face.
Therefore—
"Anna, hurry up with your cultivation. I’ll have Vivita assist and guide you so you can break through to Archmage as quickly as I have."
With the Critical Return System, it’s only natural to aspire for my wife’s sainthood.
As long as Anna works hard enough, even if I lie back, I can still grow stronger.
For every effort Anna exerts, the Critical Return System now refunds thirtyfold. She’s only a Mage at present, so those thirty units refunded carry limited usefulness for an Archmage.
Once she breaks through to Archmage and receives sa-tier Critical Returns, that will truly be solid gain for Ashu.
"Why are you suddenly rushing to cultivate?" Anna asked.
"I want you to restore your pri as soon as possible."
"That’s not sothing accomplished in a day or two—not because I’m lazy, but because that path is incredibly long, and I must walk it step by step again."
Anna said this, then sat cross-legged on the bed and began regulating her breathing.
She did not refuse Ashu—there’s no reason to refuse such a thing. The more cultivation, the better.
As soone undergoing a second-round cultivation, she deeply understood just how vast the gap between major realms could be.
Ashu had already beco an Archmage, while she was still rely a Mage; if any difficulty arose, she wouldn’t be able to help him.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
Watching Anna quickly enter her state, Ashu exited the bedroom.
Old Goth had reserved an entire floor of "Goth Manor" for them; the three of them were staying in just one of the suites.
Ashu entered the living room, and system prompts began sounding in his mind.
[Anna·Kagreia received: Magical Essence Control Proficiency 1]
[Critical Return! Vessel received: Magical Essence Control Proficiency 30]
[Anna·Kagreia received: Stamina 1]
[Critical Return! Vessel received: Stamina 30!]
A continuous stream of notifications rapidly maxed out Ashu’s status, and his stamina quickly replenished.
With warmth and satiety satisfied, lustful thoughts stirred. But he couldn’t disturb Anna, and Vivita was helping too.
With two beauties by his side, he certainly couldn’t handle things on his own.
So he held back for now, saving up for them.
Ashu employed a diversion technique, channeling his surging stamina into pondering thods to grow stronger.
In theory, as long as enough high-quality beings are bound, one can receive endless return rewards.
But since he had nothing else to do...
He suddenly recalled being summoned by a Cidi Devotee and then sealed by a Kidopriest.
At that ti, Kidopriest sealed the Magical Essence within him in an instant.
That speed even surpassed his use of Flight Magic.
In other words, that seal was highly efficient.
And according to Anna’s explanation, it was a relatively simple sealing technique—using Archmage-level Magical Essence as a barrier, with one’s own Magical Essence characteristics serving as the key.
With that thought,
Ashu began to experint.
He aid at a decorative vase in front of him in the living room and deployed a web woven from Magical Essence.
When the web landed on the vase, the entire object shattered into countless fragnts, as if sliced apart by a laser.
"Did I ss sothing up?"
Ashu pondered aloud while using his Magical Essence control ability to reassemble the vase.
The shattered pieces couldn’t be truly restored, so he used Magical Essence like glue to temporarily bind them together. Even if old Goth asked about it later, it wouldn’t matter—after all, Ashu now owned half of Goth’s assets.
After that,
He began a second attempt.
Since the first test caused the vase to explode, Ashu imdiately adjusted his thod of Magical Essence control. In trying to demonstrate the seal’s strength, he had inadvertently reinforced the sealing web too much—turning the structure into a kind of magical laser cutter.
This ti, he made the sealing web as soft as possible.
And so, a gentle net woven from Magical Essence enveloped the vase.
"Next cos turning it into a seal."
If he were still Farr Ashu, he would have had absolutely no clue how to do this sort of thing. But now he was Archmage Ashu, and his mastery over Magical Essence wasn’t born of personal trial and error, but from the system’s Critical Return.
When he practiced by himself, he never knew whether he was even on the right path—but the proficiency returned by Anna was always precise and refined.
Ashu simply channeled a portion of the Magical Essence from within his body and infused it into the net-like structure. Instantly, the Magical Essence began to flow in patterns—forming a living seal.
At that mont,
Ashu sensed sothing was still missing.
He pulled out the Sacred Codex, flipped through several pages, and finally found the scripture related to sealing.
"Ah, in the na of the Divine Mother Goddess, I weave the net of binding, to trap the profane in eternal shadow..."
When facing enemies, Ashu would chant scripture with passionate vigor, as if he were a true, devout follower of the Divine Mother Goddess.
But in private, he recited scripture like a schoolchild morizing textbook passages—utterly emotionless.
Yet even this flat, robotic recitation of a single page from the Sacred Codex caused the power of his title, "Luminous Saint," to activate once again.
The sacred text on the Codex glowed with golden light. One by one, the radiant characters floated off the page and rged with the net-like structure.
Thus, it transford into a golden web—flexible and fluid in its movent.
"Holy crap..."
Ashu could feel the energy within the golden web undergo a fundantal transformation. This thing was completely different from the sealing technique used by the Kidopriest that day.
They weren’t even on the sa level.
The Kidopriest’s seal could only trap beings of a lower tier—anyone of the sa rank could easily break free.
But this golden net? Ashu had no doubt—it could seal beings on par with himself.
In other words, if Ashu were at the Archmage level, it could seal an Archmage. If he were a Magister, it could seal a Magister. If he were a Grand Archmage—it would work all the sa.
"By total accident, I seem to have invented a new spell... let’s just call it the Sacred Codex Seal."
Sotis, even righteous folk need the flair worthy of their righteousness.
Just imagine: the next ti he encounters so unholy abomination, he’d be holding the Sacred Codex in one hand, and with a dramatic sweep of the other—out flies a radiant golden net. The evil entity wouldn’t even have ti to flee before it was sealed on the spot.
That scene would be nothing short of a textbook Luminous Saint mont.
Ashu looked once more at the vase. It was still shattered, but faint threads of Magical Essence were holding the fragnts together like glue.
He directed the Sacred Codex Seal at the vase.
Under that divine golden glow, the net-like structure enveloped the broken vase and the Magical Essence acting as adhesive, sealing it all together in one motion.
Once the seal was complete, Ashu severed his Magical Essence connection.
The vase didn’t collapse into pieces and fall to the floor—clearly, the Sacred Codex Seal had sealed the Magical Essence "glue" along with the fragnts.
Its effect was one of suspended animation, freezing the target in its current state.
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