Chapter 105 Chapter 105 Attack.
As the end of summer arrived in the imperial capital, Su Cheng received a very stylish and gorgeous invitation letter with the silver moon emblem of the imperial royal family on it.
The signature was from the emperor himself.
This was not a letter from the Emperor to her, but every participant in the Divine Grace Trial would receive such a letter, nominally from His Majesty the Emperor.
Su Cheng didn't tell anyone else except Professor Li and Luo Wen. After all, the time in the trial was different from reality.
To others, she was only away from school for two or three days, just like she was taking a trip to the capital.
"...After all, we have to keep it apart from the Dragon Knight Trial."
As she boarded the carriage to the palace, the magician who led the way said this.
The magician introduced herself. "I am Beatrice, a member of the Royal Mage Corps and an assistant to His Majesty the Emperor—"
This obviously refers to the field of spell research.
Su Cheng nodded to her, "Nice to meet you, Your Excellency."
Beatrice smiled. "Seeing is believing, sir. Your magical power and fighting spirit are so abundant that I can't believe you're not even nineteen."
She sighed softly, "If any of my unimpressive children or grandchildren could be half as capable as you, I would probably wake up laughing in my dreams."
The man's tone was gentle and his attitude was not arrogant.
But when they walked through the palace gardens, through the magnificent corridors hung with portraits of heroes, and faced the guards' salutes, the great magician did not even glance away.
Just treat them as air.
Occasionally, a noble would come over to greet her, but she would hardly give any response.
Su Cheng understood that the emperor sent her to greet him, probably to show his respect for him.
Along the way, she also met other participants.
Judging from their attire, these people all seemed to be either rich or noble, but their speech and posture varied. Some were obviously trained in etiquette over a long period of time, while others seemed awkward.
If you think about it carefully, even a person of ordinary background may be chosen by a prince and pulled into his camp for some reason.
It's not difficult to give them luxurious clothes anyway.
Compared to everyone else's attitude of not losing face but fighting, she was the one dressed the most casually.
However, some people looked at her and soon showed fear, with only awe and vigilance in their eyes.
There were also those who were less well-informed who would look at her with a bit of disdain.
But when he saw the magician beside her clearly, his expression changed slightly.
These participants were all led into the palace by members of the Royal Mage Corps. There were less than twenty of them in total, and there was no designated gathering place.
Most of the time they just pass by, say hello and then move on.
The two of them stopped in front of an archway carved from moonstone. Beatrice whispered a spell, and the door flickered with silver lights like constellations.
Then the archway slowly opened, revealing an independent hall with thick velvet carpets, walls inlaid with translucent white crystals, and the air was filled with fresh and tranquil incense.
The ground in the center of the hall sank slightly, and a circular magic array with a diameter of two meters was arranged, and the edges were filled with dense runes.
Su Cheng has recently made some progress in his studies and can now understand a small part of the meaning.
——This magic array is some kind of subsidiary array. Through runes, it can cross distances and connect with the main magic array within a certain range.
There is more than one similar subsidiary formation.
Each participant has his or her own room and magic circle, and they will not interfere with each other.
There were several other mages in the room, adjusting and testing the magic array, and another person was constantly recording on a scroll. Everyone looked very serious.
These people saluted Beatrice one after another.
The latter nodded, then looked at Su Cheng and said softly, "Before the ceremony officially begins, there are a few things I need to inform you of. First, the Trial of Divine Grace is a test of will and temperament, not a simple contest of strength. Once you enter the Echo Plane, the tests you face are all illusions, but your perception will be modified. You will believe that they are reality. Of course, all of this will be corrected after it is over..."
Su Cheng already knew this, but he still listened carefully.
Suddenly, the whole hall shook without any warning!
The crystal chandelier in the dome shook violently, making crisp crashing sounds, and even fine dust fell from the cracks in the wall.
The vibration seemed to come from mid-air, spreading from far away to near.
"What's going on?!"
A young magician even raised his staff.
Beatrice frowned slightly and immediately released her mental strength, "Remain calm! This is the core of the palace—"
Su Cheng felt the mental power sweeping out at a high speed, rushing towards the source of the vibration.
She also subconsciously wanted to do so.
When faced with unknown threats, any capable wizard would subconsciously want to use his mental power to explore and observe situations beyond his field of vision.
but--
If you encounter an enemy stronger than you, it is very easy to get hurt if you rashly release your mental power. The injury may cause headaches and dizziness at the mildest, or direct damage to the soul at the worst.
It is also possible to die on the spot.
If it was outside, it would be fine, but this is in the Silver Moon Empire Palace, almost the safest place except for the Vatican Temple, with countless masters hiding in every corner.
Who could have launched an attack here?
If such a person really exists, he must be much stronger than her.
Su Cheng decided to observe the situation for a while while thinking about an escape route in his mind.
"No--"
Beatrice screamed, then stepped back repeatedly, and was supported by the other two magicians. Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth, and she closed her eyes and fainted.
The other few people were even more frightened.
Their strength was inferior to hers, and seeing this, they quickly suppressed their mental strength and frantically took out the scroll to treat her.
Su Cheng turned around and wanted to go out. At least the view outside was wide, and maybe he could see what was happening.
The next second, the magic circle in the middle of the room suddenly shone with light, and a silver-white beam of light shot up into the sky, and all the flickering runes were filled with dazzling silver light.
A violent and unstable energy began to gather in the air.
A wisp of black mist suddenly spread out from the silver-white light ball in the center of the magic circle. The mist was like a drop of ink falling into water, quickly contaminating the entire energy-supplying crystal core.
Su Cheng had already walked to the door, but was suppressed by the energy again.
Even tiny black scales appeared on her hands and feet, her teeth sharpened uncontrollably, and her claws dug deep into the doorstep.
A terrifying gravitational force came from behind, pulling her backwards, as if it was not a magic array, but a rotating tornado vortex.
The jade tiles shattered beneath his claws.
She couldn't hold her own body back, and was swept back by the inexplicable force, falling into the light curtain that surged like a tide.
The surrounding scene seemed to be twisted and torn apart, and the terrified faces of the mages were also shattered.
That was the last scene Su Cheng saw.
The light swallowed everything.
The hall returned to its original tranquility, the energy tide receded, and only the aftershocks coming from afar still hit the dome and walls, sending out chilling tremors.
The magic circle on the ground was dim.
The three mages looked at each other, their faces filled with shock and fear. "It's not time yet? Why did it start already?"
"This isn't a fucking time issue, is it? The crystal core just went black! Is her teleportation okay?"
"Ms. Beatrice hasn't woken up yet—"
A wizard threw away the scroll he had used. "Oh my god, nothing good will happen once this lousy ritual begins..."
His colleagues gave him a warning look, "Shut up! Is it your turn to say that?"
Before he could finish his words, the door of the hall was thrown open and a messenger almost crawled in, his frightened face stained with cigarette ash.
"Ms. Beatrice—"
The herald saw the unconscious archmage and immediately felt a headache coming on. He quickly looked at the other members of the Royal Mage Corps.
"Your Excellencies, the Imperial Palace has been attacked, and the Memory Source's core magic array has been damaged—"
The three people's expressions changed drastically, and one of them stood up. "To what extent?"
The herald officer was sweating profusely. "The beacon base is in disarray, the resonant crystal is overloaded, and the spatial coordinates of all the teleportation arrays connected to the array have shifted, and they've started operating prematurely..."
"Oh my god," the mage held his forehead, "this is a mess. Who is the attacker?"
…
At the bottom of the magic tower in the center of the palace, a huge memory source core magic array was suspended in mid-air, surrounded by crystal barriers and pipes.
The mages stopped what they were doing and looked up into the air in shock.
They smelled it first.
The sweet fragrance was very faint at first, like ripe peaches in an orchard, carried into the nose by the warm wind from a distance.
But it soon becomes rich and sticky, exuding a dizzying aroma of decadence.
The air was distorted.
Everything in front of me was dyed with a feverish and ambiguous crimson.
"careful--"
The chief of the Royal Mage Corps wanted to speak, but he could hardly make a sound, and in the end only a weak breath came out.
The reactions of the others were even worse.
Right in front of the magic formation, the space was churning like boiling water, and a slender and graceful figure slowly emerged.
The man's jet-black curly hair hung down, his crimson robe half-open, exposing his lean chest and abdomen, and his snow-white naked legs hanging in the air.
With his appearance, the scene in the entire hall began to change.
Wriggling red vines grew on the crystal pipes, and the vines quickly bore plump fruits, the bright pomegranate red stained with morning dew.
The fragrance is strong, sweet and alluring. Just one breath will make people's eyes become dazed and breathing heavy.
None of these high-level magicians could remain sober, and almost all of them fell into varying degrees of confusion.
Some saw their lost lover with outstretched arms, some saw the guild's top performer waving at the window, and still others saw a deformed and grotesque body that exuded an irresistible temptation.
The god looked around at the mortals captured by lust, a happy and sarcastic smile on his face, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
Immediately afterwards, a clear cry that seemed to come from the sky suddenly resounded throughout the space.
"Oh," the black-haired god tilted his head, "Who's that stupid ass braying again?"
He said this, but actually he dodged very quickly and disappeared on the spot.
Almost at the same time, a brilliant golden light without any impurities descended from the sky and completely penetrated the entire hall.
The crimson mist was burned away, all illusions shattered like shattered mirrors, and the wriggling vines turned to ashes.
The mages who were immersed in hallucinations woke up one after another.
It was like being poured with cold water.
But what followed was not relief, but even more intense pain——
Under the dazzling pure golden light, all the negative emotions in their hearts, all the dirty desires, greed, jealousy, and lust, at this moment, were like being pierced by red-hot steel needles, and none of them could escape exposure.
Every additional evil thought that they have will double their suffering.
They let out shrill screams, and some even frantically scratched their chests and necks, as if trying to pull out the needles that had pierced their bodies.
In the blooming golden light, a silver-white figure slowly descended, like frosted hair fluttering behind the waist.
"Lukesara—"
He spoke in a cold and disgusted tone, as if even saying the name made him sick, "You are truly hopeless."
A sneer filled the air, "...After a thousand years, you can still say such stupid things."
The silver-haired young man was not angered, nor did he intend to say anything more. Golden light suddenly gathered on the blade of the sword in his hand.
The power of light instantly tore through the entire space, erasing and purifying everything it touched.
The power of theocracy collided in the air.
Completely different rule domains are devouring each other, twisted ripples are spreading in all directions, and the runes in the magic array are bombarded into chaos and upside down.
This exchange lasted only a few seconds.
During this period, magicians continued to vomit blood and faint.
The god of lust was forced to appear.
That beautiful human body began to be torn apart by the tremendous force, the snow-white skin crumbled inch by inch, and the bones made a crisp sound of being crushed.
The God of Purity looked at him indifferently and swung his next sword. "You will—"
The words suddenly stopped.
An indescribable, tangible, terrifying pressure descended.
It was a strong sense of presence that was so intense that it was hard to breathe.
The magicians couldn't help but look at the figure in the air.
Then they covered their eyes.
There was a sharp pain like needles pricking their eyes, and the pain pierced through their skull and went straight into their souls, as if punishing them for their rudeness.
The heavy force pressed down on the back of their necks and shoulders.
Everyone couldn't help but bend their legs until they knelt on the ground with their heads buried deep.
"You're an embarrassing piece of shit."
The newcomer raised his spear and took the attack from the God of Purity.
His hair was also silver-white, but it looked even colder, like the cold light of stars on a cold night.
The man was wearing a gorgeous half-armored battle robe, and his deep and cold eyes were neither blue nor green, like the turquoise shining in a frozen lake.
“…Lukesara.”
The silver-haired man dispelled the attack of the God of Purity and then cast a contemptuous glance at his colleague.
"I hope you've done what you need to do."
"certainly."
The God of Lust calmly faced his colleagues' questions, "We've thrown all our memories in there. Let's look forward to what wonderful adventures your good student will have."
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