Chapter 297 - Crown Shield

This was a separate cave located atop the Dragon Oak War Giant Tree, covered in various mysterious runes, with two fully armed Yaling Spirit Soldiers guarding the place.They were not standing guard at the cave entrance but were monitoring from a hundred meters away to prevent others from accidentally wandering in.

It was a wise decision to stay far away from such a sinister instrument that could twist a person’s abilities.

Despite such caution, unnatural distortions still appeared in the cave of the Deformed Golden Crown. The tree walls became uneven, sprouting numerous knobs that resembled the evil eyes of Foul Giants in various sizes, with the surrounding branches twisted and entangled.

The round shield was carried by Lord Virginia himself, directly taken out from the Dimensional Bag.

Facing the Deformed Golden Crown again, Gaven felt its truculence, even more so than the Evil God Emblem Ring.

The Evil God Emblem Ring’s own capabilities were not too strong; it was merely representative of an evil god, possessing a natural charm that lured people to corruption, effective only when worn over a long period.

The Deformed Golden Crown was different; the evil it exuded was almost tangible. Merely being too close made one feel extremely uncomfortable, as if under the malevolent gaze of a Foul Giant’s evil eye.

Gaven felt somewhat uncertain, unsure whether his new ability would prove effective and whether it could also destroy a sinister instrument of such a caliber.

But there was no turning back the arrow once it was shot. Having already brought Lord Virginia here with great assurances, he could not simply shy away without even trying. He would not be content with that.

Gaven activated Destroy Evil from a distance, resolved that if it did not work, he would immediately retreat. Failure was not shameful, but being corrupted and deformed by a sinister instrument would be an embarrassment.

Once again, a brilliant white light burst forth from Gaven’s hands.

Gaven’s initially apprehensive heart instantly settled down.

When this radiant light shone, casting its glow on him, he instantly felt a warm sensation all over his body, and the unease caused by the Deformed Golden Crown dissipated like smoke.

The light emitted by the radiant white light had the effect of resisting and suppressing evil forces.

Lord Virginia seemed to be affected by the radiant white light as well and couldn’t help but focus his attention on it. After observing carefully for a few seconds, his expression shifted slightly, and he murmured, "The power of Law, the force of Divine Laws."

The force of Law?

Upon hearing this term, Gaven’s heart involuntarily skipped a beat.

Any ability involving the force of Law was extraordinary.

What is Law?

The natural laws governing all things in the world, such as the laws of time, the Laws of Physics, and others, are all parts of Law.

Speaking of spells that are famously associated with the use of Law force, commandment-type spells come to mind.

As long as the conditions are met, these commandments would take effect regardless of everything else, and they are an easy version of Laws in action.

Destroy Evil.

Indeed, does it not apply the concept of Law, where anything evil can be destroyed?

Though countless thoughts raced through his mind, his steps did not halt as he strode to the Deformed Golden Crown and pressed his hand upon it.

In an instant, the radiant white light enveloped the Deformed Golden Crown with a thin layer, forming an irreversible force that began to melt the crown as if it were made of gold water.

Ao!

A piercing howl emanated from within the Deformed Golden Crown.

A twisted figure squirmed out, seemingly attempting to escape from within.

The wailing was eerily familiar; it was none other than Prince Elton, the original master of the Deformed Golden Crown.

This fellow had managed to deceive everyone.

Using the third breath of Breath of the Black Mirror, he had transferred his soul into the Deformed Golden Crown before anyone else.

No matter who it was, if they recklessly placed the Deformed Golden Crown upon their head, Prince Elton would have a field day.

Prince Elton would initiate corruption from within, invading the wearer’s soul silently and taking their place, then hatching out anew.

But he didn’t anticipate that his opponent was extremely cautious.

Refusing to even come near the Deformed Golden Crown, let alone wear it.

Now, by leveraging the power of Law, his adversary was destroying the crown outright.

Once the Deformed Golden Crown was destroyed, Prince Elton, who resided within it, naturally had no chance of escaping unscathed.

But the radiant white light restrained him too fiercely. He dared not even touch it, let alone escape through it.

The miserable Prince Elton, with his well-planned deceit, was unintentionally foiled by Gaven’s hand.

By the time the Deformed Golden Crown melted into a pool of golden liquid the size of a head, his soul was also scorched to nothingness, turning into a ball of pure, clean energy that merged with the gold liquid.

Compared to the small ball formed after the Evil God Emblem Ring melted, the Deformed Golden Crown had a sufficient volume, resulting in a substantial amount of liquid gold. It constantly rolled, floating in the palm of Gaven’s hand, sparkling with an attractive gleam.

Gaven, practiced in the act, pressed the ball of golden liquid onto the round shield.

The gold wrapped around the shield, slowly writhing.

What happened next was beyond Gaven’s control; he could only wait in silence for the invisible Law to adjust itself and spontaneously generate a Special Ability.

This process did not last long.

The goldwater had completely integrated into the shield, revealing its new appearance.

The appearance of the round shield had not undergone earth-shattering changes.

It still looked like a round shield, with no change in size, but the surface of the shield was inlaid with a circle of gold trim, particularly on the inside, where there was an additional circle of retractable serrated edges at the back. With just a thought from Gaven, these serrated edges would pop out, transforming it into a serrated shield.

In the very center of the shield, there was a raised Golden Crown, fist-sized, with a sapphire embedded right in the center that looked exactly like an eye.

The entire shield seemed infinitely perfect, radiating an indescribable charisma.

Just like with the Revenge Pickaxe, after the integration was complete, the shield’s attributes were automatically read by Gaven.

Crown Shield

Charisma Enhancement (Special Ability): User’s Charisma +4.

Absolute Defense (Special Ability): Damage Reduction 15/∞, crown state ineffective.

Petrified Eye (Special Ability): Upon activation, a petrification ray will shoot from the sapphire, turning those who fail their saving throws to stone, three times per day.

Returning Throw (Special Ability): After being thrown, the shield will return like a boomerang. If the distance between them does not exceed twenty meters, the shield will respond to your call and automatically fly back, unavailable in crown state.

Mental Attack Rebound (Special Ability): The holder will be immune to charm and mental detection, with a certain chance of reflecting mental attacks.

Dual Form (Special Ability): The shield can switch at will between the forms of crown and shield.

After reviewing the shield’s attributes, Gaven couldn’t help but take several deep breaths.

Powerful.

It was simply too powerful.

Not only were the shield’s attributes strong, but this Destroy Evil ability was also incredibly powerful.

This Charisma Enhancement clearly did not belong to the Deformed Golden Crown’s abilities; rather, it originated from that ill-fated Foul Giant Prince. Not a speck of his soul essence was left, having been completely squeezed, absorbed, and integrated into the shield.

The Absolute Defense was an inherent attribute of the shield, brought about by its special material.

Petrified Eye and Mental Attack Rebound should be abilities of the Deformed Golden Crown; Gaven had already suffered from the Mental Attack Rebound before.

And the Petrified Eye—Prince Elton had no opportunity to use it previously, as Thornspike and the Twilight Guardian were both Awakened Plants, particularly immune to petrification by the Twilight Guardian.

Returning Throw and Dual Form, on the other hand, were abilities produced from the fusion of the shield and crown.

With a thought, the Crown Shield immediately transformed into a supremely beautiful Golden Crown, very similar to the one at the center of the shield, the only difference being that the sapphire was not directly set onto the crown, but embedded in a small round shield that made up the front of the crown.

"Come on, try it on." This equipment was simply too flashy; Gaven simply couldn’t bring himself to wear it on his own head, but he had no qualms about putting it on someone else’s, especially on the head of Lord Virginia.

"This really isn’t appropriate!" said Virginia, declining verbally, but her gaze remained fixated on the crown, unable to resist such equipment, especially when it radiated such captivating beauty, one was even more eager to try it on.

"What’s there to be afraid of? There’s no one else here." Without further ado, Gaven placed it on Virginia, having sent away the two Yaling guards after their arrival at her command.

After adjusting the crown, Gaven stepped back two paces to look her up and down.

Lord Virginia’s originally loose green hair was now held in place by the Golden Crown, revealing her smooth, snow-white forehead, which made her cheeks appear more pointed and slender, the curves more perfect.

Bathed in the faint golden glow of the crown, her skin looked fairer, her hair shinier, and the aura of regal nobility seemed complete.

"How does it look?" Everyone has a love for beauty, and Virginia was no exception, her expression revealing a rare demure of a little woman.

Gaven pondered for a moment before answering deeply, "You look like a queen, no, you are a queen, my queen."

"Pfft! Who’s your queen," Virginia said a tad bashfully, handing the crown back to Gaven, "This Milestone of Destiny has produced something formidable with this Destroy Evil ability. It’s definitely the bane of evil. When you have the chance, try using this ability on those Undead Spirits and such evil creatures to see what kind of reaction you get." Thɪs chapter is updated by ɴoᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt

"Alright," Gaven nodded. He would have proceeded with that plan even without Virginia’s reminder.

"Everything is relative. When you possess the power to counter evil, evil tends to target you, trying to destroy you first. Be cautious when using this kind of power in the future, always strive to eliminate evil completely," Virginia advised.

"Understood," Gaven didn’t mind the caution. Being cared for felt good. He smiled and said, "I’ve pretty much dealt with things on this end. When you have time, could you help me transport some personnel and resources over?"

"Certainly, I’m quite eager to see your newly acquired ghost maidens," said Virginia with a meaningful smile at Gaven, a warning look from the ’official consort’ that made Gaven’s scalp tingle, although he hadn’t harbored any improper thoughts.

Lord Virginia’s daily teleportation attempts were limited, with a maximum of three round trips.

The number of people and the amount of resources she could teleport each time were also finite—the number of medium-sized individuals she could transport at once could not exceed six.

Large individuals would take up two spaces, extra-large four, and giant would need eight. Conversely, for creatures like Pikespirits that were of tiny size, she could teleport forty-eight in one go.

Therefore, the initial transfer of personnel and resources had to be as streamlined as possible.

"Eh?" exclaimed Virginia, who was preparing the Teleportation Spell, with a note of surprise in her voice.

"What’s wrong?" Gaven asked anxiously.

With amusement, Virginia revealed, "This manor you’ve acquired is quite interesting, I can’t lock onto it with the Teleportation Spell."

"You mean the Teleportation Spell can’t directly enter Weizemay Manor?" Gaven’s surprise was evident in his smile.

If that was the case, then that was a huge win.

Ban Teleportation meant that as long as you were within Weizemay Manor, there was no fear of teleportation strikes.

Virginia, speculating on something, her eyes widening with excitement, said, "Could the Mist Barrier that shrouds Weizemay Manor have, owing to the Milestone of Destiny, transformed into a Mystlock Barrier?"