"Incredible..."
Amid Saber's soft murmur, starlight fell.
Carrying an aura that could destroy heaven and earth, it did not damage a single blade of grass or tree in the courtyard.
Under Hansen's will, it gathered and swirled above his palm.
Looking at the swirling miniature nebula in his palm, his eyes were as calm as water.
Where his will reached, concepts were bestowed.
In the next moment, that brilliant nebula instantly split, its light receding.
Four Aurora Wine Cups, emitting a dreamlike rainbow aura, appeared out of thin air.
As if entities formed from the solidification of pure aurora, the walls of the cups were as thin as a cicada's wing, constantly changing with interwoven light and shadow.
The flowing galaxy turned into a physical liquid, pouring into the cups.
The liquid shimmered with a deep silver-blue glow, with tiny diamonds seemingly flickering and floating inside; every shake felt like stirring a miniature universe.
Aurora for a cup, galaxy for wine.
At this moment, the jewel-encrusted golden wine pot Gilgamesh had placed on the table instantly became vulgar and unbearable before this cup of Galactic Nectar, like a cheap gold-plated handicraft from a street stall, dull and lifeless.
"This..."
Gilgamesh's hand trembled, and the golden wine pot in his hand fell onto the table with a "clatter" and rolled into the grass.
He didn't even care to pick it up; his crimson vertical pupils stared intently at the cups of wine floating in the air.
His noble phantasm, "The Star of All-Knowing and All-Powerful," was operating frantically, trying to analyze the essence and structure of this thing.
However, the feedback he received was only a void.
Incomprehensible.
Unanalyzable.
It was a projection of power from a higher dimension, a reality transformed from pure fantasy.
Hansen gave a casual wave.
Three Aurora Wine Cups, emitting a blurred nebula luster, each drew a graceful arc in the air, sliding steadily in front of the three kings.
Hansen picked up his own cup, his movements elegant and natural.
He gently swirled the wine cup, and the silver-blue liquid within rippled as if tiny stars were truly being born, dying, colliding, and exploding inside.
An indescribable aura spread out.
It wasn't just the aroma of wine.
It was a sense of vastness and clarity, like standing at the top of the world, breathing the first gust of wind from primeval times.
Hansen didn't even look at the pale-faced, stiff Gilgamesh; he just raised his cup to the moonlight and smiled faintly:
"So-called fine wine is merely a plaything to please the senses."
"But a true king should taste this vast sea of stars."
"Everyone, care for a taste?"
...The wine cups just floated quietly in front of them.
The brilliant aurora reflected on Gilgamesh's flickering face, making his expression even more complex.
To drink, or not to drink?
This was a choice concerning dignity.
If he didn't drink, it would be showing cowardice, admitting he didn't dare try this unknown divine object, admitting he had lost to this man in terms of momentum.
If he did drink... if this wine was truly better than his own, it would be a public admission of total defeat in the field of treasures he took pride in, and all previous mockery would turn into a boomerang stabbing himself.
No matter what he chose, he lost.
This feeling of being backed into a corner was more painful than death for the proud King of Heroes.
The noble phantasms behind him were still humming, yet they hesitated to fire.
It was like a giant display of embarrassment.
"Hahaha! Since the Ruler lad is so generous, then this King won't be polite!"
A burst of hearty laughter broke the stalemate.
Rider Iskandar didn't care about face; as a king born to conquer the world, his curiosity had long since overcome everything when faced with this miraculous wine never seen even in myths and legends.
As a veteran drunkard, if he missed this cup of wine, he felt he would regret it for a lifetime even after returning to the Throne of Heroes!
"Gulp!"
Rider reached out his thick hand and grabbed the Aurora Wine Cup.
It wasn't as cold as imagined; instead, it had a warm, jade-like touch.
Without the slightest hesitation, he tilted his head back and drank it all in one go!
In an instant.
Rider's tiger-like eyes widened suddenly, his pupils contracting violently.
His whole body was like being struck by a silent thunderbolt, maintaining his head-tilted posture, frozen in place, motionless.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
"Rider?" Saber called out with some concern.
Next, everyone saw a shocking scene.
Two lines of hot tears flowed silently from the eyes of this towering, tower-like man, sliding past his coarse beard and dripping onto the red robe on his chest.
"This... this is..."
Rider slowly lowered the wine cup, his voice trembling heavily, as if still immersed in the aftermath of some great shock, unable to extricate himself.
"I saw it..."
His eyes were dazed as he looked at the empty cup in his hand, murmuring to himself: "I saw the endless starry sky... I saw the end of the world... It was a sea of stars even broader than Okeanos..."
That mouthful of wine entering his throat didn't have a spicy sting, but instead instantly transformed into billions of exploding star-lights.
At that moment, Rider felt his soul leave his body, leaping through time and space, standing at the center of the universe, overlooking the birth and death of thousands of worlds.
That was the distant place he had spent his whole life searching for and wanting to conquer!
This emotion, this grandeur, struck the depths of his soul.
"Good wine!! This is truly good wine!!"
Rider slapped his thigh hard and let out a roar from the depths of his soul, that sense of satisfaction almost overflowing from every pore.
"Even the nectar drunk by the gods on Mount Olympus is not even a fraction of this wine!!"
"Ruler! You truly understand wine! And you truly understand conquest!" The look in Rider's eyes as he looked at Hansen was no longer the previous testing, but was replaced by a fervor called "kindred spirit."
Seeing Rider's exaggerated reaction, the curiosity in Saber's heart was also completely piqued.
She glanced at Hansen, and seeing him nod slightly in greeting, she no longer hesitated.
Saber reached out her hands and carefully cupped the shimmering wine cup as if holding a rare treasure.
She brought it to her lips and took a small sip.
The next second.
Saber's emerald eyes slowly closed, and her originally tense shoulders instantly relaxed.
If what Rider felt was the heroic passion of conquering the sea of stars.
Then what Saber tasted was the eternal tranquility that could only be found in distant Avalon.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"