CHAPTER 267: THE VERDANT PROPHECY, AND ITS GUARDIAN [PART 1]

By the time Alex arrived, twenty minutes had passed since Latifa entered the sealed stone door.

According to Kael’s memory, only the members of the Royal Family and those whom they had permitted to enter would be able to pass by this door.

He didn’t know if he had permission, but since he was already there, it wouldn’t kill him to try and open it.

The moment his hands touched the sealed stone door, a notification window appeared in front of him.

———

[Synchronization Threshold Met: 40%]

— Kael Ironsworn has been granted permission to enter by Princess Yvraine Verdant.

— Verdant Cistern Access Granted.

———

The heavy stone door slowly opened, revealing a passage that matched Alex’s memory. Without hesitation, he ran in, hoping to see if Latifa was within the secret chamber only the royal family could enter.

The door slowly closed behind him, sealing shut and barring anyone else from entering.

Just as Alex was about to make a right turn, he suddenly received a blow in the stomach, making him groan in pain.

Before he could even understand what had happened to him, a palm strike hit his face, making him stagger backward.

The two-hit combo had rattled his brain, making him blank out and collapse on the ground with a heavy thud.

Alex then felt something press over his body, preventing him from moving.

"Don’t move or you’re dead."

A cold, merciless voice reached the young man’s ears. But he was still in a state of shock, unable to understand what had just happened.

"Um? Runa, isn’t that Kael?" Kara emerged from the tunnel and looked at the young man, whom her sister had intercepted, thinking that he was an enemy.

"Stand back, Kara," Runa replied. "Only the members of the Royal Family can enter this place. We managed to enter thanks to the princess’s help. But there should be no reason for Kael to be able to enter this place. Don’t you find that suspicious?"

Runa had only been serving the princess for two years, so she didn’t know how close Princess Yvraine and Kael really were.

Unlike her, Kara had served the princess for nearly seven years, and she had been witness to their close relationship.

"Get off of him, Runa," ordered Princess Yvraine as she emerged from the tunnel. "I’ve given Kael permission to enter this place, so he can go here even without me."

"Huh?!" Runa looked at the Princess in disbelief. But since her employer had already clarified, there was no longer any need for her to harm the young man more than she needed to.

The shield maiden reluctantly propped herself up before glancing at Alex and the Princess with suspicion.

Latifa hurriedly went to Alex’s side, and touched the side of his face.

"Restoration." Latifa said softly.

A green glow emerged from her hand, which spread to the entirety of the young man’s body.

The pain Alex felt instantly disappeared, and the injuries he suffered healed at a very fast rate.

He could even feel his stamina recovering, making him sigh due to how good it felt after being healed by the princess.

"Do you feel better?" Latifa extended her hand to help Alex stand up.

"Thank you," Alex replied. "I feel better now."

He accepted Latifa’s gesture and allowed himself to be pulled up by her.

Unfortunately, it also triggered a notification sound, which made the two teenagers flinch at the same time.

———

Synchronization Rate increased by 1%

Current Synchronization Rate: 41%

———

Latifa hastily took a step back as if electrocuted by Alex’s touch, making Runa narrow her eyes and stand between Kael and the princess.

"You shouldn’t act too closely to the Princess," Runa said in a serious tone.

"I understand. I will be more careful in the future," Alex replied.

He then gave Latifa an apologetic glance, to which the young lady responded with a helpless smile. Both of them were unable to stop the synchronization rate from rising on certain occasions.

Alex deemed that changing the topic would help them stir the tension away from their surroundings, so he asked the question that mattered the most.

"Have you found the Verdant Throne?" Alex asked.

Latifa shook her head. "We were just about to explore the depths of this place when we heard footsteps behind us. Runa asked Kara to protect me while she dealt with the intruder."

"Hmph!" Runa crossed her arms over her chest, not feeling a bit sorry about what she had done earlier.

If the intruder wasn’t Alex, Runa would have already gone in for the kill.

She only stopped herself because she recognized him after her palm strike landed on his face and knocked him to the ground.

"Then we should hurry," Alex stated anxiously. "The Barbarians are gaining ground inside the Fortress. The sooner we find the Verdant Throne, the better."

He didn’t know what kind of power the Verdant Throne possessed, but he hoped that it had the ability to drive off the invaders from the fortress.

Latifa also understood the urgency of the situation, so she started running to the center of the underground cistern.

Kara and Runa ran alongside her, while Alex remained a few steps behind.

He was surprised to see Latifa running so fast since he never imagined her as a very athletic person.

Actually, he was right.

Latifa was a very lazy person. But her body was that of Princess Yvraine, who was a very active princess and often snuck out of the castle just to meet with the apprentice smith at least twice a week.

After running for a few minutes, they finally arrived at the center of the cistern, where a stone chamber was located.

There were many stone chambers at the center of the cistern, which was a wide open space.

But the biggest of them all was the most special one.

According to the history of the Verdant Royal Family, their Guardian was sealed inside of it.

Only when the Kingdom was in danger would they be allowed to call upon its help.

The King,and Queen of Ul-Khazir Kingdom were currently paying their respect to the Ancestral Grounds of their family, which was located in a different mountain.

This was also the reason why the Barbarian chose to attack the castle—they knew the King and Queen were away, bringing with them a sizeable entourage, leaving only half of the Defenders in the Fortress.

Not to mention, there was a member of the Royal Family who remained and could possibly tell them the whereabouts of the Verdant Throne.

The Ancient Relic they believed held the key to conquer the entire continent.

Alex glanced at one of the stone chambers near the entrance, which made his heart skip a beat.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but Latifa also glanced in the same stone chamber that he was looking at.

When both of them realized that they might be thinking of the same thing, the two blushed at the same time, which increased both of their synchronization rates to forty-four percent!

Kara smiled faintly, while Runa looked at the two suspiciously.

Clearly, one of the shield maidens was an accomplice to a secret that happened not long ago.

"Let’s open the Guardian’s Chamber," Latifa hurriedly walked toward the largest stone chamber with a beet-red face.

Alex did his best to remain calm as he followed behind the princess who didn’t dare to look at his face right now.

Kara and Runa followed as well, curious if the princess could really open the Guardian’s Chamber and call upon their deity.

The gate made of pure mithril, runic symbols carved onto its surface, faintly glowed the moment it perceived that Princess Yvraine held the bloodline of the Verdant Royal Family.

However, it didn’t open.

Latifa’s eyes narrowed as she traced her fingers along the ancient runes.

The symbols shimmered faintly beneath her touch, as if awakening after centuries of slumber.

Alex stepped closer, and without meaning to, his hand brushed against the mithril gate as well.

Another notification chimed in their ears.

———

Synchronization Rate increased to 50%

— You are eligible to read the Verdant Prophecy.

———

The runes suddenly flared to life, and the ancient language transformed before their eyes, rearranging themselves into words they could understand.

A voice, neither male nor female, resonated within the chamber. It was not loud, yet it echoed in their minds with an undeniable weight.

"When the Verdant Line falters, and the blood of kin stains the sacred soil—

A Guardian shall awaken, not by crown nor decree, but by the hand of the Oathbound."

"Two hearts entwined, yet unspoken, would be tested by The World."

"One who bears the Verdant Blood, and one who bears the Burden of the Broken Oath."

"Together, they shall awaken the Verdant Throne."

"Together, they shall summon the Guardian of Verdance, who slumbers beyond Time."

"But heed this—"

"Should their bond shatter, the Verdant Throne shall wither, and with it, the last hope of Ul-Khazir."

Alex seemed to understand what he needed to do, so he pressed his hand firmly on the mithril gate, intending to forcing it open.

A second later, Latifa’s hand pressed over his, creating a ripple of magic on the gate, which once again re-arranged the runes until they clicked like the turning of a lock.

The Mithril gate slowly opened.

Kara and Runa took a fighting stance, ready to fight anything that might harm their princess.

The inside of the stone chamber was dark, but it didn’t take long for them to see a light in the distance.

Alex and Latifa glanced at each other and nodded at the same time.

The two walked in and approached the source of the light.

When they got closer, Alex’s eyes widened in shock when he saw...

A little white bun, eating some potato chips while watching television.

A small headset could be seen on Dim Dim’s body, which might have been the reason why it didn’t hear the sound of the gate opening.

However, when the little bun sensed a presence behind it, it turned around and gazed at the newcomers.

Dim Dim, who was still holding a potato chip in its hand, looked at Alex and Latifa before taking a bite of the potato chip, creating a crisp and crunchy sound that echoed inside the Guardian’s Chamber of Ul-Khazir.