Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3102: Charming A Celestial

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Lil’ Red Storm Realm, Freedom Megalopolise

“Who knew an infinite-cloning ability could be this handy? You have opened my eyes,” Dalia remarked as she looked at Thalorien’s original body standing atop a mountain of his clones.

Of course, the Snow Elven Crown Prince had no idea that his crude tunneling method had only worked because she allowed it to.

Dalia had subtly manipulated the realm’s crust, adjusting its density and pressure just enough to make Thalorien believe that his endless stream of Frost Clones was actually forcing a path toward the surface.

In reality, as long as he remained inside the Lil’ Red Storm Realm’s crust, he and his clone army were practically at her mercy.

The crust was part of her. Every layer of the realm, every buried ore, every space between the rocks was hers. If she truly wanted to, she could simply bury him again. Within her realm’s crust, Thalorien and his clones were essentially food served on a silver platter.

Fortunately for him, Dalia didn’t intend to eat him. Not when he might become her future kin. So, she played along.

“You have seen nothing yet,” Thalorien replied. His confidence hadn’t diminished despite everything he had experienced. The clones surrounding him immediately began to move.

Their bodies melted into one another, special snow and frozen flesh intertwining as hundreds of clones combined together. Moments later, enormous Frost-and-Flesh Golems rose from the mass. Each one stood nearly three times Thalorien’s height.

Their bodies were made from densely compressed frost, special snow, and layers of cloned flesh. Their empty eyes glowed as they turned toward Dalia, their massive limbs capable of crushing entire buildings with a single swing.

“Golems?” Dalia tilted her head. “I learned how to make those too.”

The ground around her suddenly trembled. Then the land rose. Massive humanoid figures emerged from the crust one after another.

Unlike Thalorien’s creations, these golems weren’t made from a single material.

Dalia used the countless ores buried throughout the realm’s crust to construct them. Rare metals, dense minerals. Materials hardened by countless years beneath the surface. Their bodies were further covered from head to toe in custom-made Ruler-class array formations.

The formations were specifically designed for the golems, strengthening their bodies, improving their movements, and allowing them to coordinate with one another as though they were part of a single larger formation.

In moments, Dalia had created an army equal to Thalorien’s. Equal in number and equal in variety. And judging by the array formations covering them, potentially far more troublesome.

Thalorien narrowed his eyes. This Celestial was becoming increasingly irritating. He had fought and ended his share of celestials and this was not how a celestial fought, he felt like he was fighting a person. Still, he had to fight. If ordinary force wasn’t enough, then he would simply use his signature move. Thalorien began summoning his Multi-Domain. But nothing happened, his expression stiffened. He tried again. Still nothing.

The connection required to manifest his Domain simply refused to respond. Dalia immediately noticed the subtle change in his expression. A sneer appeared on her face.

“Don’t even think about summoning the same Domain multiple times and forging them into a Multi-Domain. You are inside my Celestial array formation. As long as you’re within this realm, you don’t get to summon a Domain without my permission.” Dalia’s gaze swept over Thalorien and his clone army. “Unless, of course, you have the strength to break my Celestial array formation first.”

“Haha, a Celestial array formation truly lives up to its reputation. But I never expected to see a Celestial actually using one.” Thalorien replied with a careless laugh. Combined with his already otherworldly appearance, the expression made him appear absurdly handsome and almost unnaturally attractive.

Dalia’s eyes immediately widened, not in admiration but in disgust.

“I have heard rumors about the Snow Elven race,” she remarked, narrowing her eyes at him. “Apparently, you rose to power by leveraging your beauty against stronger beings. I guess those rumors were true.

“A Celestial who can differentiate charm?” Thalorien blinked before another amused laugh escaped him. His expression became more curious than offended. “What exactly are you?”

Thalorien hadn’t consciously intended to charm her. At least, not in the way Dalia seemed to be implying. The charm inherent to the Snow Elven bloodline was always active to some extent. It had become so deeply ingrained into their existence that most Snow Elves barely noticed when it influenced those around them.

Its purpose wasn’t simply seduction. That was merely the most obvious effect. The charm subtly reduced hostility, disturbed judgment, created hesitation, and sometimes caused conflicting emotions in an opponent at crucial moments. Against powerful enemies, even a fraction of hesitation could determine the outcome of a battle.

It was an ability the Snow Elves had relied upon for countless generations. Yet it shouldn’t have mattered to a Celestial. At least, not according to everything Thalorien knew. A Celestial’s will should stand above such crude influence. And yet, Dalia had immediately noticed it. More importantly, she had reacted to it.

“You noticed it,” Thalorien said, his curiosity deepening. His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her. “And you were affected enough to recognize what it was. By any chance, are you one of those crazy old devils who attempted to become a Celestial by devouring the will of a newborn Celestial?”

Dalia’s expression froze. Thalorien gaze swept across her, scrutinizing her existence with growing fascination. He continued before she could respond, “If you are, then you are the most successful cases I have ever seen. I couldn’t tell.”

The transformation of a powerful entity into a Celestial by devouring or replacing a newborn Celestial’s will was theoretically possible, but it was also notoriously unstable. Even when successful, there were usually flaws.

Traces of the original existence, conflicting instincts, imperfections in the control of the realm, and most importantly, the rule sources wouldn’t acknowledge them.

But Dalia had none of those obvious signs. She controlled the realm naturally. The Celestial array formation responded to her as though it were part of her body. And even his instincts, sharpened by his countless clones and experiences, had failed to identify anything unusual about her until now.

That was what truly disturbed Thalorien. If Dalia really was an impostor who had stolen the position of a Celestial, then whoever had helped create her had accomplished something terrifying.