Infinite wealth In A New World-Chapter 358: Birthday And Transformation
[One Week Later.]
[Nighttime.]
[Elves’ Nation — Victoria’s Royal Castle.]
The moon hung high over the spire of the castle, casting a silver glow upon the stone walkway. However, the usual hum of mana and the chatter of guards were absent. The silence was heavy, almost suffocating.
"I am confused, why would the princess host the Queen’s birthday in Victoria’s Castle?" Morgana asked, her voice laced with genuine perplexity. She walked a step behind Sunny and Josephine as they passed through the towering castle gates. Her eyes, usually sharp enough to spot a spell from a mile away, darted around the vacuous space.
"Something isn’t right..." Sunny murmured, his gaze sweeping across the empty courtyard. The stone pavers were bare, devoid of the usual patrols or servants. "If this is a birthday party, where are the guests and decorations?"
"I don’t care about all that, I just want to see my baby girl!!" Josephine declared, her maternal and beast’s instincts overriding her tactical caution. She quickened her footsteps, the click of her heels echoing loudly in the silence.
Sunny and Morgana exchanged a brief, knowing look—a silent communication between two powerhouses who sensed the anomaly—before quickly following behind her.
Josephine stopped abruptly in front of the massive castle doors. She stared at the cold iron handle, her expression darkening. The loving mother vanished, replaced by a warrior ready for bloodshed.
’If this is a trap or anything placed by Victoria, I will make sure she has the worst...’
She gripped the handle, her spirit energy flaring invisibly around her, and threw the double doors wide open.
"SURPRISE!!!"
"...?!"
Josephine, Sunny, and Morgana stood frozen in the doorway.
The interior of the Great Hall was unrecognizable. It wasn’t empty; it was packed. Hundreds of faces stared back at them, bathed in the warm glow of floating magelights. As the trio stood stunned, they turned their heads to see even more people emerging from the shadows of the alcoves and balconies, shedding the invisibility that had hidden them.
"This... What did they use? I didn’t even detect a soul," Morgana whispered in mild surprise. For a witch of her caliber, being caught off guard was a rare and unsettling novelty.
’Impressive... Who has such strong cloaking powers that even I can’t sense them?’ Sunny thought, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the lingering traces of energy in the air.
’No...’ He sniffed the air, detecting a faint, metallic scent underneath the perfume and food. ’There is something else here... A Masking Array? Whatever this thing is, it reduced our perception, and a high-tier illusion completed the deception. Incredible.’
He fixed his gaze on his family, standing protectively in front of Josephine, his mind already dissecting the tactical advantage of such a spell. ’I will have to ask how they achieved this.’
"You... You know we were already in the city?" Josephine asked, her voice trembling slightly with shock.
"Yep... The moment you and Dad returned, I sensed both of you," Ellen stepped forward from the crowd. She wore a gown that blended elegance with a regal authority that hadn’t been there before. "Seeing you weren’t ready to reveal yourselves, I decided to stay quiet and let you have your fun." She smiled, a radiant expression that lit up the room.
"Oh, my sweet baby girl." The tension left Josephine’s shoulders instantly. She rushed forward, wrapping Ellen in a crushing embrace. "I missed you so much!!"
"Umm... Sorry to disrupt, but where is Victoria? Why is she letting you use her castle?" Morgana asked, stepping forward, unable to suppress her curiosity.
The atmosphere shifted slightly. Nioh and the other military commanders standing nearby frowned at Morgana’s presence. The history of animosity ran deep, but seeing her standing beside their King, they swallowed their words, remaining disciplined and silent.
"Oh, this kingdom is now known as Eldoria," Ellen said, gently separating from the hug. She gestured to the flag hanging from the ceiling
"This is a present we prepared for Mom," she added, turning back to the stunned Josephine. "Both the Elves’ and Ogres’ Nations are now under Eldoria’s flag."
"You mean..." Josephine looked up at Star, Nioh, and the other commanders. They slowly nodded their heads, their expressions filled with pride and loyalty.
"Wow... I am speechless," Josephine muttered after a few seconds. She gazed out at the smiling guests. It was a sight that defied history: Elves, Ogres, Humans, and Beast-kin mingling freely. Kings and Queens of neighboring territories raised their glasses in respect.
"Come on, you can start the celebration." She grabbed Ellen’s hand, her face beaming with pride, and pulled her towards the thrones set at the head of the hall.
"Oh wow, seems I am invisible, only focus on the birthday girl," Sunny muttered with a dry chuckle. He stood back, watching the scene with a content but distant expression. He scanned the crowd again, tallying the power levels, until he realized one specific blue-skinned aura was missing.
’Well, if you calculate the time, today should be Christmas on Earth...’
A wave of nostalgia hit him. He turned away from the festivities, the noise of the party fading as he walked out of the hall, leaving the warmth of the group for the cool night air.
____
[Royal Training Ground.]
The air here was heavy, vibrating with the intensity of raw spirit energy.
"Come on!!"
Jinx sat cross-legged at the center of the training ground. Her teeth were gritted, sweat beading on her forehead as she fought an internal battle. Behind her, two magnificent dragon wings, significantly larger and darker than before, were folded tight against her back.
"Just a little more, why can’t I pass this rank..." she muttered to herself, her voice trembling with frustration.
Sunny stood silently at the arched entrance of the training ground, staring at Jinx in genuine shock.
This wasn’t the Jinx he remembered from before his departure. The slender, somewhat chaotic girl was gone. In her place sat a woman of imperial beauty. She was older, physically matured by the evolution of her bloodline. Her scales carried a deeper luster, and the two horns spiraling from her head added a terrifying majesty to her new beauty.
He blinked; the Jinx he knew was thin and wiry, but the woman before him possessed the voluptuous curves of a matriarch, yet rippled with lethal muscle. She was stunning.
’Did something happen while I was away? The flow of time shouldn’t have aged her this much,’ he thought.
Sensing a gaze, Jinx slowly opened her eyes. Her pupils, now vertical slits of glowing sapphire, snapped to the door.
"Huh?"
She blinked a couple of times, the fierce cultivation aura dissipating instantly. Without hesitation, she launched herself across the arena.
"Hey!"
BAM!
She slammed into him with the force of a siege weapon, wrapping him in a bear hug that knocked the wind out of him.
"Thank goodness you’re here," she breathed into his chest, then abruptly separated from the hug.
"Come, you must help me break through to the God rank," she demanded, her eyes wide and pleading.
Sunny stared at the formidable woman standing before him. despite her terrifying new appearance, she was still acting like a petulant child. He exhaled a long breath, grounding himself.
"What happened to you?" He asked, gesturing to her transformed physique.
"Oh! When I broke through to the Demigod rank, I unlocked another tier of my bloodline," she explained with a bright smile. "When I activated it, my powers increased greatly, and my body rapidly matured to match the energy capacity."
As she spoke, the massive wings and spiraling horns dissolved into motes of blue light, disappearing from sight, though her matured figure remained.
"So tell me, will you guys return to the Upper World any time soon?" she asked, tilting her head.
"No..." Sunny raised his head, looking through the open roof at the moon. His expression hardened. "I already removed the restrictions. Anytime from now, Lester will attack this world."
He lowered his gaze back to her face, his tone turning serious.
"Why are you still a Demigod? All the Commanders has advanced to God rank. Don’t tell me you were playing all this time!"
"Um... I was busy," Jinx deflected, crossing her arms beneath her chest defensively.
"So what? You gave us six months! And all of a sudden, you pushed it to one month! Do you think we are cultivation gods?" She snapped, her frustration boiling over. "And... Only Ellen, Nioh, Star, Nicolas, and Blood-eye have advanced to that rank. The rest are all below God rank... So don’t pressure me."
Sunny watched her defiant pout and felt a sense of relief. ’Oh well, it seems our Jinx is back, regardless of what she looks like.’
He offered a small, reassuring smile.
"Ok, I see you were serious about cultivating. So, what exactly do you need help with?" He asked with a smile, walking towards the center of the ground.
"Yes!" Jinx turned around, and quickly followed him.
"I want to break through to the God rank, can you help with that?"
