Chapter 177: Unstoppable Oppression

Chapter 177: Unstoppable Oppression

The atmosphere in the Ancient Academy seemed to get more and more oppressive by the day, and even the students soon became affected by the depression, despite most of them being cut off from the outer world.

The most that they could hear were rumors that were being circulated in the forbidden cities, but what little they did hear was still enough to send chills up their spine.

The war between the superpowers had already made many of them anxious, especially the students of Gwyntere and the Lavinian Empire, but they hadn't completely lost hope.

After all, it wasn't the first time these two superpowers were fighting, and it likely wouldn't be the last. The situation was dire, but certainly not apocalyptic.

With some luck, their families should be able to survive, or so most of them thought. With the lack of communication and isolation from the outer world, they could only convince themselves so.

However, the matter of one of the strongest powers in the world expanding their influence while using the Terrazyme Kingdom as their spearhead was something else entirely.

Even the Aquans, who had mostly maintained a neutral stance, for the most part, couldn't help but be alarmed.

Their world only had three major continents, and the last one that faced the Temple of Shinra's rapid expansion was already 'united as one' under their 'guidance'. Would their fate be the same?

Even if the commoners didn't care so much, the elites immediately lost all their sleep.

As Evelyn made her way to the 'cafeteria', ignoring the hundreds of strange looks being thrown her way, she couldn't help but do a double-take at the haggard appearance of Eula. "What happened to you?"Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

The green-haired girl shook her head with a sigh. "Nothing much, Evelyn. Don't worry, I was just worried for my princess."

The pink-haired girl frowned. "What's wrong with her?"

Eula seemed to hesitate for a while before she grit her teeth. "It's no secret. But the royal fleet was confiscated by the Temple of Shinra. I don't believe my princess or the empress would agree to give it up, a-and I haven't heard from her."

After a moment of silence, she held her head in her hands and groaned. "She didn't even reply to my message earlier!"

Evelyn had thought that they were only slowly increasing their influence and making preparations, but to be able to seize what was possibly the greatest fleet in the continent, although it was not militaristic in nature it seemed like whatever they were planning to do wouldn't take long at all.

'Moreover, if they can just suppress the royal families like that' Evelyn sighed. 'No, of course they can, what am I thinking? As long as one of the hegemons gives an order, would they dare to disobey?'

Evelyn didn't know the exact power dynamic between the local superpowers of the continent and the old thrones, but she was sure that the thrones should still be able to suppress them somehow.

In that case, there was no telling what happened to the Aquan princess.

She couldn't help but shake her head. Even if she thought so, saying that while Eula was so distraught would be insensitive at best. "Maybe she's just busy, so"

She could only grit her teeth and clench the soft palm in her grasp. "Please tell me the truth! You know I'm selfish and greedy. I won't do anything stupid and selfless."

Aurora gave her a strange look before shaking her head with a smile. "What are you thinking? Have I ever lied to you?"

Evelyn felt her words get caught in her throat. Since it was true, she really couldn't refute it.

The platinum blonde sighed. "Don't overthink. He is an old enemy to us, but maybe to him, we're no longer worth mentioning."

Evelyn frowned, suddenly having a bad feeling in her heart. "I-Is it the throne in control of the Temple of Shinra?"

Aurora nodded. "That's right. The Lord of Bones, as he's called, can be considered our enemy dating back to ten thousand years, if not more. Since before I was born, I have known that a day would come that he would wipe us out."

Evelyn furrowed her brows, feeling a little annoyed in her heart. "That will never happen."

'I won't let it happen.' Is what she wanted to say, but knowing her own strength, Evelyn knew that such words were meaningless. In fact, if not for Aurora's protection, she would have to resort to a life of running away and hiding continuously to ensure her survival.

The pink-haired girl sighed. "Forget it, teacher are you hurt?"

Aurora shook her head with a smile. "Don't worry, we're not so weak. Or do you think he would go away like this? I don't know how much strength he used, but this attack couldn't have been effortless."

Evelyn couldn't help but bite her lip. "B-But"

The platinum blonde nodded. "Right, in the end, his attack did get through. We couldn't coordinate the barrier well because of Hyperion's condition. Moreover even if he was in his prime, we couldn't block that attack completely. But didn't we avoid the destruction of the Tower of Solitude?"

Evelyn thought the explanation from her teacher made some sense, but the dreadful feeling in her heart only became more intense.

The more she thought about it, the more something appeared wrong. Especially when Aurora didn't scold her when she used her probe skill, not able to control her anxiety, the feeling only got worse.

From the moment she had known Aurora, it had always appeared to her as if the platinum blonde didn't have her priorities right. Especially when it came to herself, there was something that just didn't sit well with Evelyn.

Clearly, she had promised that she would share any worries and troubles that she couldn't handle, but Evelyn had the feeling that she had been foolish to believe in that promise.

After all, 'couldn't handle' in her mind was probably a lot different from what her teacher thought.

How far would Aurora allow herself to be hurt before she decided it was something she couldn't handle?

The pink-haired girl frowned as she squeezed her palm. "Y-You promised you won't hide from me if you needed help, so"