Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye

With this thought, EkHard withdrew his gaze and turned it toward Ellie in the crowd, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Now, the only remaining members of the Barnes family bloodline were Gerard and Ellie. After their investigations, they found that Levin's favorite was his granddaughter. If the key was with anyone, it was most likely her.

They needed to find a way to get the key from her. His eyes flickered as he thought about his next move.

At that moment, EkHard suddenly saw Luca take out a black ring and casually toss it into the glowing gate.

Hmm? What is this guy doing? EkHard wondered, briefly doubting whether this man had lost his mind. But then his eyes widened in shock.

Vroom!!

A strange ripple spread out from the point where the ring landed on the gate, and immediately, the golden runes on the gate began to spin rapidly. The entire seabed seemed to tremble with the vibrations.

The water swirled violently, rising in bubbles and mud clouds.

The sudden change caught everyone off guard. Then, they watched as the golden runes slowly stopped moving. The gate shone with brilliant light, its runes aligning in a perfect formation, eventually forming a complex Rune Crafting.

And that door, which had troubled the Fish Human Race for over thirty thousand years, was now—easily opened by Luca?

"...Was that ring the key?!" In that instant, EkHard felt his mind go blank. He had been here scheming on how to get the key, and yet, the key was right in front of him?!

The group inside the water sphere, including Ellie, was also stunned, their faces filled with confusion.

Gavin scowled, "They were making it sound so complicated earlier, I thought it would be a huge deal. Turns out it was all a load of nonsense. This was easy to open after all?"

EkHard's face twitched, unsure of what to say. Continue reading at empire

Everything he had said was true, but what was the point now? Who knew Luca already had the key?

Wait... He suddenly realized, and his expression changed dramatically. Earlier, he had assumed that Luca had simply learned the whereabouts of the Celestial Pearl but hadn't paid much attention to it. After all, knowing the location didn't matter if the barrier couldn't be broken.

But now, with the door opening, EkHard finally understood the seriousness of the situation.

If Luca got his hands on the Celestial Pearl, what had they been guarding for all these thousands of years? To simply hand it over to someone else?

His face shifted through several emotions, but he didn't dare make a move. With Luca's strength, he could easily kill him at any moment. This wasn't the time to act recklessly.

Moreover, they hadn't completely lost their chance. Farlenben was sacred ground to them, but for these outsiders, it wasn't going to be as easy to navigate.

"Let's go, let's see what's inside." Luca turned back and said calmly to Ellie, Sophia, and the others.

He had noticed EkHard's change in expression but didn't pay much attention to it. Or rather, he didn't care enough to focus on this guy.

Luca knew very well what the real threat was: Zenobia, inside Sophia, and the Via Empire, which might send someone at any time. If he had to name something else, that giant sea monster from before could count as half a threat, but the Fish Human Race and EkHard didn't measure up.

After saying that, he turned and walked straight into the glowing gate.

The others immediately followed his lead.

EkHard, ignored, stood there with his face turning an ashen shade. He wanted to shout angrily at them for trespassing into their sacred land. But as the words formed on his lips, he swallowed them back, only daring to grit his teeth at Luca's retreating figure.

"Oh, by the way, there's something I forgot to tell you." Suddenly, Luca's voice came from the gate.

EkHard's face, full of anger and resentment, froze.

Then, in a speed that could only be described as the fastest face-changing maneuver he had ever executed, EkHard plastered a smile on his face, one full of ingratiation. "My lord, if there's anything you need, please give your orders, and I'll make sure to carry them out."

Luca spoke plainly: "Make sure you keep an eye on the two ships outside. If anything happens to them, I'll break your legs."

EkHard's expression turned serious. "Rest assured, my lord, I will make sure to guard your two ships properly."

After a long silence, no further sound came from the glowing gate.

Only then did EkHard let out a deep sigh of relief, his teeth grinding together with a loud crunch.

This was too much! Far too much! For a Transcendent-level powerhouse, the leader of the Fish Human Race, to be made to watch the ships!

What did this human take him for, a boatman? Damn it! Damn it! This was unforgivable!

With hatred burning in his chest, EkHard shot one last resentful glance at the glowing gate before quickly returning to the grand hall.

"The barrier of Farlenben has been opened. Immediately notify Sea Lord to come; someone is trying to seize the Celestial Pearl!" Ignoring the strange looks from the others, he commanded the Fish Human generals outside, his face as cold as ice.

The Fish Humans around him froze in shock. They immediately understood the gravity of the situation. The Fish Human general, his face darkened, immediately saluted and said, "I'll go notify Sea Lord right away!"

With that, he transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the deeper parts of the Dead Black Sea.

EkHard thought for a long moment. The frown on his face slowly relaxed as he came to a decision.

Although he couldn't deal with Luca directly, Sea Lord was a top-tier, natural disaster-level powerhouse, one of the strongest beings on the Eternal Continent, and a rare expert in spiritual powers. Handling Luca would be a piece of cake for Sea Lord, and EkHard didn't need to worry about it.

Just then, an outraged general stepped forward. "Your Majesty, that human is too despicable! We absolutely cannot let him go easily!"

Another general angrily said, "That's right, Your Majesty. These people have no respect for us. Their ships are still outside. Should we send someone to smash their ships so they can never leave the Sea of Mist?"

Upon hearing this, EkHard was momentarily tempted by the idea. But then, he suddenly recalled what Luca had said to him earlier.

"Keep an eye on the ships, or I'll break your legs."

After a moment of hesitation, he waved his hand and dismissed the thought. "Forget it. What's the point of burning two ships? When Sea Lord arrives, I'll have their flesh sliced off piece by piece and fed to the sea dogs!"

At his words, the Fish Human soldiers and generals around him all brightened up, feeling that their king certainly had a grand vision. His ideas were different from others.

...

Meanwhile, after Luca and the others passed through the glowing gate, they felt the light in front of them flash by in an instant. By the time they realized what had happened, they found themselves standing in a massive city full of towering buildings and bustling streets.

The streets were paved with white jade, immaculate and pristine. On either side, there were buildings resembling Roman-style domed houses. In the spacious square, a classical statue stood tall, and clear spring water continued to flow in a serene fountain.

The buildings gradually increased in height as they spread across the city, offering a sweeping view. When they looked up, they could see the grand cathedral at the far end of the city, its vast grounds dominating the skyline.

So this is the capital of Farlenben?

The group was stunned. The city seemed to be several times larger than Clinton's Dawn City and had an ancient, timeless charm that surpassed any city they had seen before.

Ellie, in particular, was immensely excited. "This must be the imperial city of Farlenben, Lanster City. My grandfather told me that Lanster is the birthplace of Farlenben and the most prosperous city!"

It wasn't just Ellie; Elle, Isaac, Gavin, Keik, and the soldiers were all thrilled as well.

In the Western Sea, they had all grown up hearing stories about Farlenben. They had often imagined what this city might look like as children, but never thought they would one day actually stand in it.

Compared to the excitement of the others, Luca and Sophia were much calmer. Luca had seen so much that it no longer fazed him, while Sophia's calm demeanor was just part of her nature.

"Everyone, I understand your excitement, but I think you'd better be careful," Luca said, scanning the city with his gaze as he spoke.

"What have you noticed?" Sophia, knowing that Luca must have observed something, asked.

The others also turned their attention toward him.

Luca didn't respond immediately. He walked up to a fruit stand, picked up an apple-like fruit, and tossed it to Gavin.

"Is there something wrong with this fruit?" Gavin asked, catching the fruit, confused. He examined it closely but found nothing unusual.

Luca continued to survey the surroundings and said, "A city that sank into the sea thirty thousand years ago shouldn't be able to preserve fresh fruit like this. And even if the streets and buildings weren't damaged, they shouldn't be this clean."

As he spoke, Luca walked over to a table by the side of the road, picked up a cup of tea, and raised his hand to gesture toward the steam rising from it. "The tea is still warm, which means either there were people here recently, or time was somehow frozen at the moment Farlenben sank into the sea thirty thousand years ago."

Upon hearing his words, everyone snapped out of their reverie.

They began to look around, realizing that everything around them seemed almost too perfect—so perfect that it almost felt unreal.

"Could there still be living people in Farlenben? Didn't everyone here die...?" Ellie's voice faltered, and as the thought dawned on her, her face turned pale with fear. She quickly moved closer to Luca and tightly clung to his arm, pressing her chest against it.

Sophia shot a cold glance at Ellie but said nothing. Her gaze turned sharply to Luca.

Luca twitched his arm slightly, but didn't pull away. With a resigned shrug, he changed the subject. "The first possibility can be ruled out because if people lived here, there would be some trace of their presence."

It wasn't just humans—at his current level of power, even if undead were present, he would have sensed their aura.

That left only the second option.

A hint of suspicion grew in Luca's mind as he glanced toward the distant palace at the heart of the city. "Let's go. We'll head to the palace. The answers we're looking for should be there."