Chapter 26
Currently, the vast majority of ranks on the continent of Icarus are divided into nine levels.
Whether it's weapons, potions, scrolls, inherited spells, or categories like warriors, apothecaries, and mages, they are all categorized in this way, and the ranking is usually determined by the corresponding organization.
The Dwarven Warriors Guild is responsible for evaluating warriors and forging weapons.
The Elven Apothecaries Guild is responsible for the evaluation of potions, herbs, and apothecaries.
The High Papacy, on the other hand, is responsible for evaluating magicians and alchemists, including those who produce magic scrolls, spells, and alchemical products.
After the ninth rank, no one knows what level is next.
After all, there are very few ninth-tier beings on the entire continent.
So whatever it is, once the ninth-order assessment is completed, it will definitely shake the entire continent.
During the period when Keith's magical skills improved by leaps and bounds, he also fantasized that he could become a legendary ninth-order mage.
His original plan was to slowly grow to a point where he could rival the church while it was not paying attention to him.
However, he soon reached a bottleneck in his cultivation, and anxiety overwhelmed him. At this time, the gods once again issued a divine decree, stating that the divine power supporting Keith's rapid growth required the faith of more people. If Keith wanted to advance further, he must restart the Church of the Gods and spread the glory of the gods throughout the entire continent.
He said that there were still His remaining believers on the continent, and that as long as Keith became the first to restart the Church of God, he would one day be the Pope of Orlando.
The magnificent palace above the clouds in the miracle was a sight he had never seen in his life.
But now, the setting sun has completed its final mission and sunk below the mountains. The fiery clouds on the horizon are gradually cooling down, exuding a chilling aura. And this cold feeling comes from the hard stone platform beneath his palm.
The gods once guided him to obtain a divine artifact. With the help of that artifact, his cultivation became twice as effective, his original magical talent continued to expand, and his upper limit was broken time and time again. He could also greatly enhance his magic power in battle and clearly see the strength of enemy mages with the help of the artifact.
Keith already had an answer in his mind, but he was still unwilling to give up and kept chanting the incantation to activate the divine object.
What he saw were ten enormous golden dragons entrenched behind the black-robed youth.
A single □□ represents the first order.
The criteria for judging divine objects were even more stringent in the pre-New Age era, when the standards were even more demanding.
Truly as brilliant as the sun—
The man seemed to have noticed something as well, raising an eyebrow at the magician and smiling knowingly, "I see."
The sound wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears.
The hidden sound transmission array flashed by in a flash of light and quickly disappeared into the air, as if nothing had happened.
Immediately afterwards, the young man's highly recognizable voice rang out, echoing throughout the entire city of Mercury: "The magician Keith, for spreading heresy, murdering church members, detaining innocent civilians, colluding with the traitor Duke Mercury, openly rebelling against the kingdom, all his crimes will be settled today. The High Papacy has come here for only one purpose."
He raised his slender hand and took off his straw hat. His half-length hair was blown by the wind. He smiled on his handsome but pale face, but his eyes were as cold as frost. The magic circle rising from the city wall was reflected in his heterochromatic pupils.
Unmoved, he continued, "Keith, His Holiness the Pope always watches over every believer."
"You hypocrites! The punishment of the gods will descend today!"
Keith gripped the stone platform, his fingertips turning white from the force, and he stared intently at Veris.
The magician reached out, grabbed the staff held by his attendant, and pointed it towards the sky. In an instant, the sky changed, and a huge magic circle appeared above the city of Mercury.
His eyes were bloodshot, his heart was pounding like a drum, the divine artifact had been activated, and he felt all the magic power in his body gather together and then burst out with even more powerful strength.
His unprecedented power meant he no longer needed to chant incantations.
Among his followers were many mages who were overjoyed to see him summon a huge magic circle without chanting a spell: "Congratulations, sir, on becoming an eighth-level mage!"
An eighth-tier mage is already someone who can stand at the top of the continent of Icarus.
No incantation is needed; wherever the staff points, the heavens and earth would surely collapse and split.
Someone else cleverly remarked, "The Papacy has actually sent a cardinal, but with the Grand Master here, the cardinal will just suffer the same fate as those people from a few days ago."
"What cardinal? He might not even last three moves against the adults!"
"Hmph, just maggots in the church!"
Keith ignored them. His hand holding the staff trembled slightly, and the weight of the staff in his palm was a heaviness he had never experienced before.
The crystal at the end of the staff shimmered with a red light, and below the crystal was an area whose color was slightly different from the rest of the staff.
As if it were inlaid there, Keith panted heavily, glanced at the spot, and felt slightly calmer.
The object was grayish-white with a smooth surface. Upon closer inspection, it appeared as if characters were flowing across it, which was quite peculiar.
Since he accidentally obtained the legendary divine bone, his life has undergone earth-shattering changes. The once obscure and difficult incantations have become as simple as numbers with the help of the divine bone.
With his divine bones still intact, his power can still break through, and even if he were to face that terrifying being, he might still have a fighting chance!
When the two magicians in the Papacy delegation saw the huge magic circle above their heads, their expressions changed slightly.
Nowadays, in the books that magicians study, or in the teachings of the Royal Capital Academy, all the magic circles cast by magicians have one thing in common: at the core, there is a bow and arrow symbol, which proves that the magician has studied magic books from the church.
The enormous magic circle above our heads contains immense power, but that's not the main problem. The real issue is the patterns at its core – they're definitely not the markings for a bow and arrow!
The surrounding winds were constantly shifting, with flying sand and stones making the armor of the guards rattle.
The eyes of the two magicians and the seventeen priests all fell on Veris in front of them.
Veris, meanwhile, tilted his head back, staring at the enormous magic circle above him. The intricate patterns reflected in his heterochromatic eyes, and the flow of magic awakened distant memories. Images of hundreds of years ago surfaced in his mind, and he couldn't help but smile.
"You're quite talented to be able to use something so ancient, but you've misused it."
The young man smiled faintly, and amidst countless gazes, he simply raised his hand and gently swept it across his face.
A burst of golden light erupted. Seeing that he had made a move, Keith gritted his teeth and no longer hesitated. A huge wave of light flew out from the magic circle, carrying an overwhelming force. The surrounding space was distorted by this terrible impact.
With the aid of the divine bone's power, this strike has already reached the level of an eighth-tier mage.
He had no time to consider whether the residents of Mercury City would be affected. If this attack failed to force the man below to retreat, he would be doomed.
With his nerves on edge, Keith's pupils shrank to almost the size of pinpoints. The blinding light of the magical energy wave didn't make him blink, and his breathing nearly stopped.
Suddenly, a hand pressed down on his head.
Spatial magic was used to its fullest extent. Veris sliced through the air in front of him, and a small magic circle appeared. He reached his hand into it, and the hand disappeared in front of him but appeared on Keith's head.
Like a thunderbolt striking the lake, Keith trembled. The magical light wave poured down, and a magic circle appeared about five meters above the pedestrian's head.
The magic circle looked smaller than the one Keith had summoned, and it was covered with symbols that were extremely familiar to magicians. The patterns were outlined by a light golden light. Its appearance not only blocked Keith's magic circle, but also flew towards it with an even more terrifying momentum.
The light wave was shattered by the small magic circle, like a fragile glass lamp. Residual magical light scattered in the sky, and a heavy pressure piled up in everyone's heart—except for the instigator.
The delegation's attention was drawn to the dramatic change overhead. By the time some of them realized what was happening, the horses in front were pawing the ground in frustration, their backs empty.
"ah--!"
Keith's pitiful screams echoed from the city wall.
In the passageway of the city wall, there was originally a group of magicians who followed Keith, as well as a row of guards who were on high alert.
At this moment, the light of the magic circle on the ground flowed, and no one dared to make a move, watching the scene before them in horror.
Keith, the one who instantly stepped into the eighth rank of magician and leaped to the top of the continent's combat power, was now like a defeated dog, his head being grabbed by one hand, while the other hand held a longsword.
With a smile on his lips, Veris pressed Keith's body onto the stone platform. The magician looked up in disarray and saw the delegation arriving at the city gate. The faces of the church's lackeys showed astonishment.
The magic circle above his head was shattered, leaving him no room to resist. Outside the city gates, there were embers of broken magical light everywhere, like falling stars in this moment when darkness was about to fall.
The magic circle that suddenly appeared expanded wildly after shattering the large magic circle, rising again until it covered the entire city of Mercury.
Inside the city, thousands of lights were lit.
Veris grabbed the head, then turned it around to look at the people around him who had retreated in fear, and smiled with narrowed eyes: "You despicable scoundrels, why do you have to collude with them?"
He glanced down at the staff lying on the ground, raising an eyebrow: "Yannis's remains? I didn't expect such a thing to exist in this world. It seems my guess was right."
With a stride, Veris dragged Keith, who resembled a failed alchemist's puppet, to the side facing Mercury City.
The city was brightly lit, and the streets near the city gates were filled with the troops that Duke Mercury had mobilized.
They looked up at the shadows cast on the city wall.
The man, who was said to be Mercury's greatest magician, was being held by the head by another young man and pressed against the city wall. He was powerless to resist, his disheveled hair obscuring his expression, and he looked extremely pathetic.
The strange change in the sky just now has alarmed the entire city of Mercury.
The terrified residents, merchants, and travelers witnessed a miraculous scene in the sky, which was still shrouded by a huge, pale golden magic circle.
The young man's casual voice rang out: "Speak, what are your doubts about the church?"
The head beneath his hand rose in temperature, Keith's breathing became intermittent, and his voice seemed to be spitting out from between his teeth: "For hundreds of years since the founding of the Church, it has levied countless taxes, causing untold suffering to the people. It has monopolized magic books and plundered rare treasures, offering them all to the High Papacy. Countless magic apprentices, who originally had outstanding talents, have been trapped in the magic apprentice realm for life because of the obscure and difficult magic books."
Upon hearing this, Veris couldn't help but laugh: "Since the founding of Lotheran, the church has only levied thirty-one taxes, which are used to support the local church. The countless taxes you mentioned, could they be levied privately by Duke Mercury?"
"Ah, let me think, what taxes do we Mercuries have?"
"Not to mention the tribute, there's the 'armor tax' for the guards, the market tax for the merchants, and a whole host of other miscellaneous customs duties—it's all too numerous to count. As for today's troop mobilization, our Duke probably already collected the money last month, didn't he?"
The young man's voice rang out with a mocking tone.
"And how many silver coins have fallen into the hands of these soldiers?" Veris bent down, grabbed Keith's head, and forced him to look up. "Look, the Duke is terrified and is running back to the manor like a madman."
On the towering city walls, the silhouettes of the Duke's convoy fleeing in panic through the streets were exceptionally clear.
Veris watched as the crowd on the street grew larger and larger, and nodded in satisfaction: "As for what you said about the church monopolizing magic books, do you know what the consequences are for practicing magic spells that are not up to your level?"
Keith heard a scream suddenly ring out beside him, followed by the smell of blood. He instinctively tried to look in that direction, but Veris didn't restrain him and even turned his head to a different position.
He saw a man fall among the fanatical worshippers of the Celestials and his magicians, his body convulsing, but his lips still moving. Veris said nothing, and in the brief silence, they all heard the man uttering magical incantations, sometimes intermittent, sometimes rapid.
It is the introductory spell for fourth-tier mages, the Gold-Seeking Spell.
Veris looked at the man as if he were chatting with Keith: "That guy has only been a magic apprentice for half a month, and he has already learned the spells of a fourth-level mage. He's really amazing."
"No...no...there won't be any problems, I went through the same thing..." Keith trembled as he watched the mages who had followed the God with him fall one after another.
He was terrified that he too would become one of those people.
Because the level he has crossed is much more powerful.
"Magical elements place extremely high demands on the human brain. Complex magical incantations dilute the intensity of the combined magical elements, alleviating the pain in the human brain."
Veris's calm voice rang out from above, "This is a compulsory course for fourth-tier mages in the church. Unfortunately, your rating in the church is only third-tier."
"The vast majority of those who practice magic without authorization die from brain explosions."
The night wind ruffled the ends of Veris's hair, and his voice was slightly cold: "Before the New Era, magicians were as numerous as hairs on a cow, because the gods bestowed magical talents without restraint, and as many humans died as a result, with some even using it as a form of entertainment."
"The humans who survive the brain explosion will eventually stand out and become powerful magicians."
Do you think this is a good thing?
Keith turned his head back to face the entire city of Mercury, his face now deathly pale, muttering words of pleading with Veris to save him.
The cold glint of a sword was pressed against his neck.
"For hundreds of years, the church has been preaching on the mainland. Our only motivation is to maintain the peace and tranquility of the mainland."
Veris looked at the great city, his face expressionless, and said, "You are nothing but playthings under His control. Now, atone for the sins of those innocent souls who refused to submit to you."
Amidst countless gazes, Keith knelt on the city wall, the black-robed man behind him gripping a longsword but making no move.
Keith felt his soul being scorched by a raging fire. He was familiar with that feeling; he experienced it every time he refined power from the divine bones.
But at this moment, the raging fire was there to destroy the evidence!
His words of "save me" quickly turned into "kill me."
An unknown raging fire tormented his soul, ten thousand times more intense than refining divine bones, and pain was etched on his face.
Previously, he had also obsequiously inquired of the gods whether there was magic to torment criminals.
The spirit of that deity gave him a spell, claiming it was similar to the raging fire he had used when refining his divine bones, but the spell activated a fire that scorched the soul, like ten thousand ants gnawing at the heart and roasting the marrow.
Keith used this spell on the innocent who refused to submit to him.
The church's magicians, the future magicians chosen by magic, were all imprisoned in the basement of his mansion, tortured with this spell day after day.
Veris's face went expressionless. He flicked his wrist, and blood splattered in the air.
The magicians under his command ceased to exist.
The confidant who had been left outside by the Duke to observe the situation suddenly felt weak in the knees, hurriedly climbed onto the horse's back, and with a trembling hand, flicked the whip, galloping straight towards the Duke's mansion.
Ignoring the onlookers along the way, the horse trampled over several people's limbs, and terrified screams echoed everywhere.
Keith, the guy who could instantly kill a fifth-tier mage, was utterly powerless against the man in black robes.
The Vatican is truly enraged this time—and even the royal family has no intention of intervening!
Who was that man in black robes? The confidant knew a lot about the positions in the church and had excellent eyesight. He saw the bow and arrow symbol on Veris's body and the ruby hanging below it—the symbol of a cardinal.
But how could a sorcerer who could easily kill Keith be just a cardinal?
The confidant trembled, certain that the young man in black robes was one of the eleven bishops! And very likely one of the legendary five great mages!
On his way to the city gate, he overheard the old duke's plan. His colleagues also agreed that the young man surrounded by church envoys was probably a member of the royal family, and that they wanted to capture the young man to blackmail the Lortheran royal family.
But now, the believer lamented inwardly, for that person was not a member of the royal family at all, but clearly an important figure in the Papacy.
Although he should have been prepared for failure before following the Duke, as the Duke said, the King wouldn't do anything to him because of their shared status as members of the royal family.
The magic circle above their heads seemed to have eyes, watching their every move.
The trusted aide rushed back to the Duke's mansion. The old Duke, not daring to stay outside, huddled in his study. Upon seeing him enter, he abruptly stood up: "Where's Keith?"
At this moment, the old duke still held a glimmer of hope, after all, Keith had confidently told him earlier that unless a ninth-tier mage came, no one could break through Mercury City.
The trusted aide knelt on the ground, trembling violently, and spoke rapidly: "Keith is dead! Our army has surrounded us, sir—"
"You said the army is coming?!" The old duke's eyes widened. In an instant, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. A fleeting look of hesitation crossed his face, but it quickly turned into ruthlessness.
"Pass on my order: send the army to arrest the Papacy's people!"
The confidant looked up, incredulous: "But that magician—"
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through his heart as a slender, sharp blade pierced his chest. The old duke's face contorted in rage, but he drew his sword with lightning speed.
Blood stained his chest, and the confidant lay on the ground, his eyes wide open, his lips parted, still mouthing the words of dissuading the Duke.
Only two lights were on in the study. In the dim light, the lean old man's high cheekbones seemed to reflect a cold light as his sinister eyes swept over his other subordinates in the study.
"Arrest those people! If they make a move, use the people in the city to threaten them! Prepare the cars, we're leaving through the south gate now!"
Abandoning an army meticulously built over decades and risking the lives of the city's inhabitants, Duke Mercury made his decision in an instant. He left through the south gate and rode at full speed, reaching the nearest harbor in just one hour.
Take a boat to the island he had already prepared!
He would never let himself lose his life here!
At that moment, a slight tremor came from the ground. Outside the city gate, a dark mass of troops surrounded the city. Upon seeing this, the two mages of the delegation waved their staffs and chanted incantations. Magic circles flashed, and vines that sprouted from them knocked away the guards at the city gate. Then, they forcibly opened the city gate and entered Mercury City along with Veris's horse.
On the city wall, Veris dropped the corpse in his hand, raised his hand to wipe away the bloodstains splattered on his chin, rubbed his fingertips together, and a flash of cleansing magic light appeared, restoring his fingertips to cleanliness.
He didn't rush to look at the army outside the city gate, but instead turned to look at the guards who were surrounding the city. Despite their fear, the guards were emboldened by the sight of the army surrounding Mercury and raised their spears at Veris. The sharp spearheads gleamed coldly and caught Veris's eye.
They watched as the terrifying sorcerer smiled, his voice reaching their ears: "If you lay down your weapons, perhaps you can be treated leniently when the border army arrives tomorrow."
The guards looked at each other, hesitant and unsure of what to do.
At their feet lay the bodies of more than a dozen mages, all brain dead from being forced to learn advanced magic.
But these guards had no knowledge of magic. All they knew was that the black-robed youth was talking and laughing while the arrogant mages around him fell one after another. They didn't even know why these people had died.
It's true that the army has surrounded Mercury City, but now they are facing this sorcerer directly. A distant flood can't quench a nearby fire. By the time the army reaches the city walls, they will have already died at the hands of this sorcerer.
For a moment, some people actually put away their spears.
Soon, more and more people put away their weapons, and the guards spontaneously made way for each other, retreating towards the steps of the city wall.
At the city gate, a trusted confidant of the Duke rode forward and, seeing the guards still standing on the city wall, shouted: "The Duke has ordered the capture of all members of the Papacy, life or death, with a reward of tens of thousands!"
The retreating guards all stopped moving.
The army had already reached the city walls. Even if they were no match for the sorcerer, jumping off the walls would likely save their lives. If they could capture the sorcerer… In an instant, everyone's breathing quickened, as if they could see gold and silver treasures beckoning to them.
As the guards charged forward again, Veris's smile remained unchanged, but he sighed, "It's just a temporary advantage. Your Duke has long since abandoned you."
His sigh was drowned out by the surrounding noise.
The spears gleamed coldly as they thrust towards him; at a glance, there were probably about twenty men thrusting their spears out.
As the guards of Mercury City, their equipment is naturally excellent. They have sharp spears, sturdy armor, and short knives at their waists. They never slack off in their training, and their combat ability is obviously stronger than that of mercenaries.
They outnumbered him and were not without a fighting chance against that magician.
For ordinary people, magicians are too far removed from their lives. Although they had witnessed Keith annihilating other magicians a few days ago, these people still felt that they had the ability to fight back.
No matter how powerful a magician is, they still need to wave their staff and chant spells.
Their long-range combat skills may be formidable, but when it comes to close combat, the defenders clearly have a greater advantage.
"bite--"
As the sharp tip of the spear approached Veris, it was blocked by an invisible barrier. Soon, the intricate patterns of a magic circle flashed before his eyes, and the black-robed youth pointed at by the spear magically produced a straw hat and put it on his head, his slightly curled hair being blown by the wind.
His pale chin lifted, and the terrified eyes of the guards were reflected in his heterochromatic pupils.
He smiled. The magic circle that had appeared beneath his feet, which had disappeared after Keith was killed, reappeared now, its powerful magic flowing and completing the formation in the blink of an eye.
The guards felt a sharp pain in their heads, followed by a loss of strength in their wrists. Their spears fell to the ground with a clanging sound. They clutched their heads in pain, and some tried to beg Veris for mercy, but soon found that they could not utter a single word when they opened their mouths.
"Ah, what a fine night." Veris tossed aside his sword, walked to where Keith had been standing, picked up the staff, examined it closely, and pursed his lips.
"I thought it was something good, but it's nothing special."
When the guards on the city wall suddenly fell, the confidant below knew something was wrong. He immediately raised his long sword and shouted, "Vanguard, follow me! Enter the city and capture the Papacy's lackeys! With 50,000 troops surrounding them, even if they have extraordinary abilities, they won't be able to escape!"
"Only fifty thousand?"
A clear voice rang out from above, startling the confidant who abruptly looked up.
On the city wall, a young man in black robes, holding a long staff and wearing an ordinary straw hat, hovered in mid-air, looking down at them.
Upon noticing the brand-new insignia on the armor of these troops, Veris's eyes flickered, and a smile curled at the corners of his lips, but it grew increasingly cold.
Mercury City has more than one gate; his other confidants have already led their troops into the city. They will capture anyone who is dressed in church robes.
These people were unaware that their duke had fled Mercury and was heading towards the port.
"Archers—!"
The trusted aide, his eyes fixed on Veris's figure, gritted his teeth and shouted, "Shoot him down!"
No one moved.
Veris lowered his head, meeting the gaze of his confidant, and said, "Since you now worship Yannis, then let us defeat you with His bones."
A chill instantly gripped his heart. The confidant stiffly turned around. Behind him were his men, who had also been on horseback, but now they were all motionless. In the dim night, he met a pair of blank eyes.
Frost covered the armor, and the cold spread rapidly. No one realized what was happening; their brains seemed frozen, unable to think. They could only sit motionless on their horses or stand in formation, weapons in hand.
Looking around, tens of thousands of ice sculptures could be smashed to pieces on the ground with just a gentle push.
"The Frost Spell was once known as a divine spell, simply because it originated from the Sky Palace." Veris looked down at the staff in his hand, then raised his arm and, amidst the fearful gazes of his confidants, pointed to the other city gates.
The young man seemed to be explaining to him: "But for ordinary mages, frost spells can freeze instantly, but they don't distinguish between friend and foe, making them more suitable for large-scale wars. Of course, that applies to ordinary mages."
He raised his eyebrows and said, "It would have been a bit difficult to distinguish between you all, but since your armor all bears the insignia of the Celestial Church and is imbued with Yannis's faith, it's much easier now."
The staff was raised and pointed at the night sky. A huge magic circle appeared, covering the entire city of Mercury. Unlike the magic circles that surrounded the city before, this time the center of the magic circle did not have the usual bow and arrow symbol, but a strange sun. The intricate patterns were outlined by sky-blue light, making it very gorgeous.
In the city of Mercury, the influx of the army quickly caused the residents and travelers who had been peeking out to retreat back into their houses, close their doors tightly, and the sound of armor clashing was deafening. The hooves of horses pounding the ground seemed to shake the houses.
Guards stood on almost every street.
As they got closer to the city gate through which the delegation had entered, the soldiers began searching house to house.
Their search was only just beginning. The sky-blue light fell on the ground, immediately attracting the attention of countless people. They all looked up at the huge magic circle above them, utterly astonished.
Before they could even hastily hide inside, a sudden chill descended, freezing their limbs and leaving them frozen in place. In the blink of an eye, these arrogant soldiers were frozen in place.
Even the soldiers already inside the house couldn't escape it. The residents, who dared not speak out, were bewildered. The soldiers who had just been fiercely questioning them about whether they were harboring church members suddenly froze on the spot, unable to utter a single word.
What happened? The residents inside the house were confused. Some of the bolder ones went forward, but before they even got close to the soldiers, they felt the temperature plummet, a chill that seemed to seep into their bones, which frightened them so much that they dared not go any further.
On the street where soldiers stood frozen, seventeen priests appeared like ghosts. Their faces remained unchanged, and they held short knives in their hands, easily plunging the sharp blades into the necks of several of their confidants.
Although the two accompanying mages were prepared to face high-level mages and engage in magical clashes, since entering Mercury County, they had been like mascots, only able to follow the cardinal and the priests.
Oh, and now they have an extra task: to keep the cardinal's horse safe.
The two men were not young, but among magicians they were still considered young. At this moment, they stood side by side, trembling, wishing they could hug each other. They usually worked in the church and were in contact with kind pastors and priests. They had never seen such fierce pastors before.
These people seemed very kind along the way, but it turns out they were all ruthless killers.
The four city gates represented four armies. The four dukes' confidants, who led the armies, along with a dozen or so men, all perished under the priests' daggers.
While their brains were still frozen, they did not even feel pain.
After confirming that these people were dead, the pastors would recite a few words of prayer for their souls' salvation with compassion.
An army of 50,000 cannot all be killed; the specific course of action depends on the king's decision.
The Duke of Mercury had no time to attend to the upheavals in the city. He gripped the reins, wishing his horse could run even faster. He had left his family and children at the Duke's mansion—he still hoped to use the elderly, women, and children to hold off the church's envoys.
When the Duke saw the sign for the port town, hope ignited in his eyes. He had also left a small team in the port town, which was now stationed at the town's entrance. If the Duke appeared, they would escort him to the designated island.
Once he boards the ship and leaves this continent, no one can catch him!
He spent a fortune collecting magic-blocking crystals, burying them around the island, and also bought a large number of hidden magic scrolls so that he could live out his old age in peace after the storm had passed.
As he was about to enter the port town, he slowed down by pulling on the reins. Just then, a voice sounded above him: "Richard, you're really fast."
The Duke's body trembled violently. Richard—he hadn't heard that name in years. After he accepted the title of Duke and changed his name to Mercury, no one called him Richard anymore.
He raised his head, feeling as if his neck was rusty, or as if his head had suddenly become dozens of times heavier. His movements were slow, and his narrow eyes reflected the figure suspended in the air.
The first thing you notice is the ruby hanging from the man's chest. Is he a cardinal of the Papacy?
No, the cardinal was not qualified to know the secrets of the royal family. He breathed heavily, gritted his teeth, and shouted at the figure, "Who are you!"
Since the people from the Holy See had already caught up with him, he simply stopped struggling. Even if he was captured and taken to the capital of Lortheran, he still had a glimmer of hope as long as those old fogies in the Elder Council were still around!
Duke Mercury made every effort to maintain his dignity as a duke of a great county.
However, the young man's next words drained him of all his strength.
The attendants, still concerned about protecting the Duke, surrounded him and watched Veris warily.
Willis, holding Keith's staff, raised his hand and removed his straw hat. He lowered himself slightly, looked up at Duke Mercury, and smiled, "Long time no see. What should I call you? My uncle?"
"You, you—how could you still be alive?!"
The old man's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he leaned forward, staring incredulously at Veris's face.
"No, no, he should have died long ago! You're a bastard, or what!"
The next second, he began to deny it again. He would rather believe that the young man in front of him was that person's illegitimate son than accept that that person would appear in Mercury.
His grip on the reins loosened limply, and Veris looked down at him with a nonchalant smile.
Richard, the old duke's former name, wore an ugly smile: "You old, monstrous creature—"
"Shh." Veris raised his index finger to his lips, the wind blowing through his hair, and Richard saw his distinctive heterochromatic eyes, which were unmistakably real.
Hatred mingled with fear in the old man's eyes, but even at this moment, he never imagined what Veris would do to him.
He is the Duke of the Kingdom of Lortheran. No matter how powerful the Pope is, he still has to consider the royal family.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to insult the person in front of him, the staff was raised, and the crystal at the top was pointed at his face.
Richard swallowed his words abruptly: "You, what are you going to do? I am a duke, I am the king's uncle. If you kill me, aren't you afraid of starting a war between the kingdom and the church?"
“You’re right,” Veris said with a smile. “However, my student has disliked you for a long time. Now that you’ve come to me, I think he’ll be happy to do you a small favor as your teacher.”
"As for the Council of Elders? You know, the Papacy has the most outstanding alchemists. They will forge a flawless puppet, and then you can just say that you couldn't take the shock and went crazy, and they won't say anything."
Richard's face drained of color. He knew the king was displeased with him, but he had the support of the Presbyterian Council, which had always been a powerful tool to restrain the king. But at this moment, his teeth were chattering.
Because, once Veris says something, he will inevitably do it—
“No, no, I was wrong, teach me—” he shook his head frantically.
"It's too late."
A small magic circle appeared at the tip of the staff, and the next second, a beam of light as thick as a child's arm shot out. In the horrified gazes of the followers, a large hole appeared in the old duke's head.
His emaciated body lost its strength and collapsed to the ground, his strange death unlike anything his followers had ever seen.
Veris turned his head, looked at the terrified followers, and smiled gently: "Alright, escort the Duke back to the city. When the kingdom's advance officers arrive tomorrow, you can state your crimes to them."
After saying that, he shook his head and sighed to himself, "Who exactly is spreading rumors that I'm dead?"
A flash of pale golden light, and Veris's figure had vanished from the spot.
The city of Mercury has been taken over by the delegation. The old duke is dead, and all his trusted men who led the army have been killed. The situation is hopeless. All that is left is to wait for the royal envoy to arrive.
Veris used spatial magic to put the staff into his backpack, then remembered his horse and returned to the side gate through which the delegation had entered the city.
On the street, the soldiers were still frozen. Veris decided to thaw them when reinforcements arrived tomorrow.
In the night sky, a crow flapped its wings and quickly locked onto the young man in black robes standing at the street corner. It swooped down, and the young man, as if sensing something, raised his arm so that the crow could land on it.
With a slender finger tapping the raven's head, Veris's brows furrowed slightly, but he quickly regained his usual lazy demeanor and turned to walk in a certain direction.
"I almost forgot about those two unlucky guys. Oh, it seems there's one more unlucky guy."
Keith's mansion was completely silent. The house wasn't in the city center to begin with, and with the spell locking onto faith, all the people in his mansion who hadn't been taken to the city gate were frozen in place.
In the underground prison, Allen's expression was strange. The dragons had excellent hearing, and he had heard the gist of the changes in Mercury City.
Of course, he also heard the familiar voice. He subconsciously glanced at Arnold in the opposite cell. The blond boy was clinging to the bars, but not to him. Instead, he was looking longingly at the cell next to Allen.
There are currently only three people locked up in the cell.
The unlucky hero squad, along with a silent and reclusive magic apprentice.
Arnold looked at the silent boy and said pitifully, "Tell me the story again, I really haven't heard it before."
The boy glanced at him, then silently turned his back to the dark wall.
Allen sighed. Ever since last night when he was discussing the Pope with Arnold, this boy had suddenly said a few words, and Arnold had come to regard the boy as a like-minded friend.
In addition, this boy grew up in the Mercury Church and knew far more church stories than those circulating outside.
Unable to resist Arnold's persistent questioning, he managed to tell a few stories intermittently, but Arnold took advantage of the situation and kept making him continue.
The boy then ignored Arnold.
The underground prison is unguarded tonight, but the magic circles engraved in the cells are not something they can destroy.
Alan still had the mind to pay attention to what was happening on the ground, while Arnold, who seemed capable of keeping him locked up until he died, was eager to make friends with the boy in the opposite cell.
By the way, his so-called shared ideals naturally meant that the boy, like him, admired His Holiness the Pope.
How could a cell with only three people be so noisy?
Allen sat on the ground in despair.
Veris was right. The recommendation letter for admission to the Royal Academy could withstand three attacks from a ninth-tier mage. Keith's methods of tormenting them were also blocked without any restrictions.
The magician stared at them with a sinister look, but soon left the cell because of something else.
The boy next door wasn't so lucky. Under Keith's magical torment, he remained silent and refused to join the so-called Cult of the Gods.
He was already here when Allen and Arnold were arrested.
It's unclear what Keith was thinking, but instead of killing him outright, he continued to torture him with those strange spells.
Perhaps it was because this person was unyielding to both soft and hard approaches, and they were determined to torture him until he submitted.
After hearing this, Arnold was so moved that his eyes welled up with tears.
"We are all devout Orlando believers!"
As Veris stepped into the underground prison, he heard Arnold shout.
He was still wearing a straw hat, and the cardinal's badge on his chest was hanging down. Only his face had changed. He was more handsome than before, and his heterochromatic pupils had turned completely black, as thick as ink.
Hearing footsteps, Arnold stopped talking and craned his neck to see who had entered the underground prison.
However, the gaps in the railings were too small, and he couldn't see the scene ahead of the passage.
Allen's expression changed, and he stood up, dusting off his clothes.
The footsteps stopped beside them.
Veris stood in front of the cell, watching the boy turn around when he heard footsteps, his face clearly showing interest.
The boy looked even thinner than Arnold, his face was ashen, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.
He was also watching Veris, and his intuition told him that this young man was not with Keith... He even sensed an aura that made him want to get closer to him.
Veris sighed inwardly; he never expected to witness a story of a pearl being buried in dust.
The boy, whose bone age is only fourteen, possesses a sparse magical talent. If nothing unexpected happens, he will become an ordinary magic apprentice and make no further progress.
If something unexpected happens, the curse on his body will be lifted, and he will soar to great heights.
—Legendary, born with a ninth-tier magical talent.
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