After Togetic came out, Terrance did not immediately give it any orders.
He was not entirely sure about the exact method for traveling between the two places.
However, one thing was certain: the method was related to the Togepi Temple.
Without waiting for Terrance’s orders, Togetic took the initiative to sense its surroundings. Very quickly, it discovered something.
The temple in Mirage Kingdom possessed a gate that connected the two locations. In fact, any Togepi had a way to pass through that gate.
After all, in ancient times, Mirage Kingdom’s Togepi Paradise had originally been a sacred land belonging exclusively to Togepi.
“Can you do it?”
After a while, Terrance finally asked.
Princess Sara also looked at Togetic with anticipation in her eyes.
As for Togetic, after merely observing the temple’s energy fluctuations, it had already figured out the general method of passing through. However, instead of behaving itself, it suddenly became playful. It looked at Princess Sara with pitiful eyes, almost making her feel so sorry that she wanted to hug it.
“Can’t you do it? If you can’t, then forget it…” Princess Sara immediately said worriedly when she saw Togetic’s expression.
“It should be possible,” Terrance paid no attention to Togetic’s dramatic change of expression. Since it hadn’t answered him directly, that meant it could do it. He had long since figured out this Togetic’s way of doing things.
Under Terrance’s intense stare, Togetic let out a sigh. Then it put on a confident expression and flew over to rub against Princess Sara, seemingly asking for praise. As the killing intent in Terrance’s gaze grew stronger and stronger, Togetic finally moved. Yet the expression on its face made it seem as though it had made an enormous sacrifice, making Terrance look like some unforgivable villain.
As Togetic sighed, Terrance sighed as well. He was mentally exhausted.
Fortunately, Togetic did not let them down at the crucial moment. As the light of Safeguard enveloped it, a fluorescent glow instantly appeared on the gate above the temple opposite it.
“Let’s go.”
Upon seeing the glow and receiving Togetic’s signal, Terrance quickly reminded Princess Sara. The next moment, Togetic waved its finger and, through its command, opened the passage between the two places.
Wrapped in white light, Terrance and Sara felt as though they had crossed through space and time and arrived somewhere entirely new.
…
…
When the blinding white light finally left their vision, Princess Sara and Terrance slowly opened their eyes.
But the scene before them…. instantly left both of them stunned.
“This place…”
Was this Togepi Paradise?
Why… was it so desolate?
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but endless withered grass and dead trees. Not a single Togepi could be seen, nor was there even the slightest trace of green life.
Besides that, the sky was gray and overcast, gloomy and cold. The moment he saw the state of Togepi Paradise, Terrance frowned deeply.
Not only him, even Togetic could not help but reveal a surprised expression after seeing the environment here.
“There’s a Togepi over there…”
Not long after the two stood frozen in place, Princess Sara suddenly noticed something and quickly pointed it out to Terrance.
“Let’s go take a look,” Terrance said.
Togepi Paradise was much larger than Terrance had imagined. However, the number of Togepi was surprisingly small. The first thing Terrance and Sara found was only five Togepi. At this moment, all five were lying weakly on the ground or leaning against tree trunks. They looked as though they had gone hungry for many days and lacked even the strength to move.
“What should we do…”
Seeing these Togepi in such a terrible state, Princess Sara looked at Terrance in panic.
“Did you forget? The Togepi in Togepi Paradise grow by relying on the spiritual energy of Mirage Kingdom’s citizens,” Terrance said slowly after thinking for a moment.
“If something like this has happened, then the problem may have occurred somewhere in that process.”
After hearing Terrance’s explanation, Princess Sara was clearly puzzled. Terrance then added, “What I mean is, could there be some problem within your kingdom?”
“Impossible… Mirage Kingdom has always been peaceful. The crime rate has been kept extremely low, and public security is even better than it was during the previous king’s reign. Something like that absolutely couldn’t happen…”
Princess Sara shook her head vigorously, rejecting Terrance’s claim.
“Then aside from the citizens, is there any conflict within the royal family?” Terrance asked, glancing up at the sky above.
Before arriving in this kingdom, he had already heard that its politics were somewhat chaotic. Most of the kingdom’s authority had fallen into the hands of Colonel Hansen. If Terrance’s judgment was correct, this was practically a precursor to usurpation.
Since it involved the ruler of a nation, Terrance suddenly felt he understood why Togepi Paradise had become like this.
“You…” Sara froze for a moment. Following Terrance’s line of thought, she suddenly felt a bad premonition.
“Colonel Hansen has always strongly opposed my succession to the throne because I haven’t received a Togepi’s recognition. He has repeatedly obstructed me and even openly contradicted Father. Could it be because of that?” Though kind-hearted, Princess Sara was not foolish. She quickly realized something was wrong.
If it were merely opposition to her inheriting the throne without a Togepi’s recognition, it shouldn’t have caused Togepi Paradise to end up like this…
“Could it be… that Father is in danger?” Sara said anxiously. “According to tradition, the heir to the throne must receive a Togepi’s recognition, and that Togepi must come from this Paradise. If the temple’s priest has been bribed by Colonel Hansen, I suspect he may use a Togepi from somewhere else to seize the throne. With the military forces Father currently controls, he may not be able to defeat Colonel Hansen.”
If Togepi Paradise had truly been corrupted by Colonel Hansen’s ambition, then his ambition must be enormous, possibly involving the fate of the entire kingdom.
“I understand.” Hearing this, Terrance nodded, having roughly reached a conclusion. However, he paid no attention to the increasingly anxious Princess Sara and instead began examining the Togepi around them.
He had no interest in digging into Mirage Kingdom’s domestic affairs right now. Compared to that, he was far more curious about what was happening in this Paradise.
“The sealed power? How am I supposed to awaken it?”
Terrance stroked his chin and thought carefully. According to the ancient texts, the sealed power within Togepi Paradise was comparable to a Shiny Stone vein and served as the foundation of the whole Paradise. Perhaps even borrowing a small portion of it would allow Togetic to gain tremendous benefits.
It was far more valuable than any Shiny Stone.
“Hey…” Only now did Princess Sara realize that she still didn’t even know Terrance’s name. But at this moment, all she wanted was to return quickly and warn her father that Colonel Hansen might harbor ambitions of seizing power.
“What’s the hurry?”
Terrance did not even turn around. By now, the five nearby Togepi had all noticed his presence. Slowly opening their eyes, they looked at him with pleading expressions.
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